Immersion
by Sara Nero
Summary: With Uchiha Itachi being named the Rokudaime Hokage Sakura Haruno has been assigned to be his right-hand-man and advisor. Now, the pinkette had not only to deal with Tsunade at the Hospital, but an Uchiha who obviously took joy out of driving her insane and messing with her mind. Non-Massacre.
1. Sakura's new boss

**CHAPTER 1-** _Sakura's new boss_

* * *

Haruno Sakura was exhausted.

Team 7 had returned from a mission in Kirigakure mere hours ago and as soon as she had passed the gates did she receive the order to help Tsunade out at the hospital since there was an emergency.

Of course she had instantly rushed to the Hospital and helped her rather moody Shishou out and whereas Shizune had tried her best to be of help wherever she could as well, it had still been gruesome four hours at the Hospital.

The pinkette was currently in the ER together with Tsunade and together, they were healing a Jonin's almost entirely broken Spine. Whereas that was something that was fairly easy and didn't require as much chakra as one would think after years of practice, it still took quite some time.

"How did the mission go?"

Sakura kept her emerald eyes firmly set on her patients back, the green hue that surrounded her petite hands not faltering the slightest even as the familiar voice rather suddenly broke the comfortable silence of the ER.

"It went well. We managed to find the culprit and Naruto even managed not to destroy the entire village during the fight, so that was a double success." Sakura shrugged, smiling fondly at the memory of her blonde-haired teammate shooting her and Kakashi a victorious grin while Sasuke took care of the unconscious body.

Tsunade merely chuckled in return and applied some pressure on the Jonins back until there was a cracking sound. "I expected no less from you. That brat is getting closer and closer to his goal with every mission he takes."

Her Shishou's words caused Sakura's smile to turn into a fond grin. It wasn't the first time that she had heard these words and not only from Tsunade but also from many others and rather High-ranked Shinobi from other Countries. She was beyond happy that Naruto was finally getting the recognition he deserved and she was certain that after some more time, he would be named the Nandaime Hokage.

"He'll be a great Hokage." Sakura confidently spoke, having faith in Naruto even though she knew that the blonde still needed to learn a lot before he would be able to take the title of the Hokage.

Tsunade hummed in agreement, lifting her honey orbs to look at her pink-haired apprentice. "Speaking of Hokage, don't you have an appointment in an hour?" She nonchalantly reminded Sakura and whereas it may seem like her mentor was merely reminding her of an appointment to others, Sakura didn't miss the ghost of a smirk that graced Tsunade's lips as she did so.

"I do." Sakura mumbled under her breath as she furrowed her pink brows as her emerald eyes caught Tsunade's amused gaze. "I still didn't quite forgive you for assigning me to be his advisor, Tsunade-Shishou."

Tsunade rolled her eyes at her apprentice's words, her smirk still firmly set in place as she moved her glowing hands from her patients upper back to the lower part of his back. She knew exactly that Sakura hadn't been too thrilled as she had announced that she would be the Rokudaime Hokage's advisor but the Princess had her reasons that Sakura would come to find out herself sooner or later.

"You know, others would have killed to receive the honor of being the Hokage's right-hand-man." Tsunade curtly reminded Sakura, who merely sighed in return.

She knew that Tsunade was right and that she should consider herself honored and be beyond grateful for have received the opportunity to be the advisor to a Hokage. Yet, ever since the announcement four weeks ago Sakura had been beyond busy and received many tasks that were usually passed down onto Genins, but the oh so mighty Hokage insisted that she should do them herself.

"I know, but couldn't you have chosen someone else, like Kakashi for example?" Sakura once more tried, but the curt look that she received from Tsunade was enough for her to realize that Tsunade would not change her mind.

"Kakashi and the Hokage know each other too well and have a similar way of thinking. The Hokage needs someone who is objective and can put up with his thick-headiness and we all know that you are the best for the job, especially since you were able to put up with me all these years and somehow managed to survive my training." Tsunade reasoned with a tone of finality and without as much as another word retrieved her hand from her patients back.

She shot her apprentice a smile and gave her a rather forceful pat on her shoulder that earned her a wince from Sakura. "I'll leave the rest to you since I still need to take care of some things regarding the Hospital bills."

"You're going to be the cause of my death Tsunade-Shishou." Sakura muttered as she watched her mentor who had a satisfied smirk on her lips leave. She knew that Tsunade has heard her but then again, that was her every intention.

The blonde knew that Sakura was unable to get more than a four-hour sleep each day and still summoned her to the hospital whenever she could. Then again, Sakura couldn't really blame her for doing so. Tsunade needed as much help as possible and since Sakura was the best medic in Konoha with the exception of Tsunade herself, she was left with very little alternative options.

"I wouldn't be too sure Sakura-chan. As far as I have heard, Itachi is doing a great job at that as well."

With that being said, the Sanin left the Emergency Room and a groaning Sakura to take care of her patient on her own. Fortunately, Shizune was around to take over after an hour has passed so that Sakura was able to make it to the Hokage Tower just in time for her appointment.

The pinkette's chakra was nearly completely drained and as she passed a shop-window on her way to the Tower, she refrained from cringing at her reflection.

Her mid-back long rosy-colored locks were tied up in a messy bun and the clearly visible dark circles under her eyes made her look like a zombie, much to her dismay.

She was dressed in her usual attire that consisted of a dark-pink Qipao, black thighs and her usual plain black-colored Sandals while she was holding a bundle of paper in her right hand. A few people that she barely knew greeted her with a low bow as she entered the Hokage tower and Sakura automatically greeted them with a bright smile in return.

She had earned herself quite a high reputation for both being the Godaime's apprentice, who was rumored to surpass Tsunade very soon as well as for being a member of the infamous Team 7 that consisted of Naruto, herself, Sasuke and of course their leader, Kakashi.

"Sakura-chan!"

She smiled, recognizing the voice in an instant as she turned around to be greeted by the sight of Naruto jogging towards her with Sasuke following close behind.

Sakura waved at her teammates as they caught up with her. "Hey guys." She beamed at the two and whereas Naruto returned her smile with a grin, Sasuke merely offered her s curt nod of acknowledgement in return.

Then again, Sasuke never was a man of many words.

Sakura sighed, a smile on her lips as she fondly remembered the time when she had been crushing on her teammate. She did for quite some time until she started her training under Tsunade, what caused her realize that her silly crush was only just that, a crush that disappeared within the first week of her training just as fast as it had appeared.

Now, she was nineteen and didn't even find the time to do as much as talk to a boy who wasn't in her team. She didn't mind at all, but the fact that Ino constantly kept on reminding her that she was not getting any younger was not helping the matter at hand at all.

Team 7 shared a bond that could be compared to that of a family and she dearly loved her boys but sometimes, there were also moments when she wanted nothing more than to simply knock some sense into them.

Naruto threw an arm over the pinkette's shoulders and pulled her closer to him, something that had become one more of Naruto's habits. "Sasuke and I went to check on you an hour ago but you weren't at home. Have you been at the hospital until now?" The blonde inquired, looking at her with concerned blue eyes.

"Yeah, but I'm fine." Sakura waved a nonchalant hand. "Tsunade-Shishou helped me with the rather big emergencies so it was bearable." She quickly assured him, knowing that Naruto would most likely give Tsunade an ear-full the next time they would see her and that was something that Sakura would like to prevent.

"You look as if you've treated the entire village last night." Sasuke commented as his onyx eyes bored into her emerald ones, Sakura stubbornly holding his gaze to get her point across. Whereas Sakura knew that it was a way of him expressing his concern, she couldn't help but feel like they still didn't fully consider her capable of doing her job.

"I am fine, really." She insisted as they reached the familiar door of Hokage's office moments later. Two guards were posted outside of the door and upon seeing the approaching Team 7 they offered them a curt nod.

"Hokage-sama is already expecting you."

Of course he was. Sakura mentally prepared herself as the guards knocked on the door before one of them gently opened it and went inside, leaving the team to only see his back. She watched in mild amusement how his straight posture was somewhat stiff before he offered their Hokage a perfect bow.

"Hokage-sama, Team 7 has arrived." The guard curtly informed the Hokage as he straightened his posture once again, what caused Naruto to roll his eyes at the formality and Sasuke to lightly smirk out of pride.

"Send them in."

Sakura inhaled a deep breath as the guard stepped out of the office and allowed Team 7 to enter the office without any further delays, closing the doors behind them.

The office didn't change much even after Tsunade had retired from being the Hokage. It was just as it had always been with the only change being that not Tsunade was seated on the chair behind the familiar desk, but another familiar face.

Uchiha Itachi.

He was sitting on the chair with his elbows resting on the top of the wooden table where papers were neatly stapled on at the side, his fingers interlaced as his onyx eyes were boring into theirs.

His entire presence formally screamed authority and since Sakura was the last one to enter, his unwavering gaze fell on her last. Sakura couldn't deny the way a shiver run down her spine at the intensity of his stare and she couldn't help but feel somewhat intimidated and yet, she bravely held his gaze.

"Nii-san." Sasuke greeted his older brother with a curt nod whereas Naruto and Sakura gave him a small bow, both mumbling a small greeting under their breath for different reasons.

Sakura because she couldn't shake off the feeling of his calculating gaze on her and Naruto because he was not accustomed to greeting others with such formality.

As soon as they were back in their usual position, Sakura stepped forwards and placed the mission-report on his desk, not missing the way his onyx eyes followed her every move.

Most would be beyond creeped out upon getting their every moved watched and yet Sakura could proudly say that she had somewhat gotten used to it over the past month.

Sakura moved to stand next to Sasuke as the three of them watched how Itachi took the mission report and quickly skimmed over it.

"Hm." The Uchiha heir placed the report back onto his desk after some moments of silence before he looked at Naruto, his face not giving away any of his thoughts. "You managed to take him out on your own by using the Rasengan I presume."

His velvet voice cut through the silence and Sakura narrowed her eyes as she glanced at Itachi before she returned her attention to Naruto, who gave him a proud grin that was accompanied by a nod.

"Yep, he didn't see it coming."

Itachi returned his nod, clearly satisfied with the blonde's answer before his eyes slid over to Sasuke next, the intensity of his gaze enough to unnerve Sakura. "Did you use your Sharingan on the remaining Shinobi?"

Even though his face didn't show, Sakura could easily tell that Sasuke was somewhat caught off guard by Itachi's question, judging by the way his posture had suddenly stiffened.

Years of being in a team with the boys have given her more than enough time to pick off every little habit of theirs.

After some moments of silence, Sasuke eventually nodded. "Yes." He curtly replied, watching how Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly in return.

"Genjutsu?"

"Aa."

Itachi leaned back in his seat and even though there was a flicker of something in his eyes that Sakura eventually recognized as disapproval, she found herself gazing straight into his eyes that have now lastly shifted onto her.

He silently held her gaze for a moment, as if he was trying to get into her mind and read her every thought but Sakura had none of it. Her eyes narrowed the slightest of bits what, of course, went unnoticed by both Naruto and Sasuke, who were watching the two of them in silence.

Itachi however didn't fail to miss the way her eyes narrowed ever so slightly and as a spark of impatience flickered to life in her emerald eyes, he decided to cut the chase.

"You fought eight Shinobi on your own." It wasn't a question and rather a statement that was also referring to her report and Sakura merely nodded in return, wordlessly answering his question.

Itachi's calculating eyes never left hers. "And how many did you take out with the aid of your chakra?"

Sakura blinked once, having somewhat already expected this question from him as the realization of what he was getting on dawned on her. Her gaze sharpened and judging by the way the ghost of a smirk passed his lips for the split of a second, the Uchiha knew that she had finally understood.

"Eight."

A sigh passed his lips as he leaned back forwards into his seat, eyeing the Team in front of him with a serious expression, much to the boy's confusion. Sakura however knew exactly what he was going to say.

"You did well on your mission." Itachi praised them, clearly content with the outcome of the mission, even though he had expected no less from his brother's team. "However, you should learn not to rely on your special traits only like the Kyuubis chakra, the Sharingan or your additional Chakra. That's why I am especially content with Naruto on this mission."

Said male's clearly surprised blue eyes were open wide and fixed on his teammates older brother, having clearly not expected the Hokage's words.

Itachi turned to look at Sasuke and Sakura. "Not only did Naruto manage to take out the target, but he also managed to do so without the help of the Kyuubis chakra." He clarified, causing the blonde to shoot Itachi a wide grin whereas his blue orbs were shining with pride.

Sakura turned to look at Naruto, instantly catching his gaze as she shot her teammate a small yet genuinely proud smile. She was happy that he was able to prove himself more and more these days and that Itachi, the current Hokage, was acknowledging his improvement as well.

"I wouldn't have managed without Sakura-chan and teme having my back though." Naruto quickly objected, shooting the elder Uchiha a sheepish smile as he threw an arm around Sasuke, who was ever so tempted to punch his blonde teammate straight in the face.

Itachi gave a curt nod of agreement. "Of course." His eyes then slid back to his little brother who was currently glowering at the blonde.

"Dobe, let go of me." Sasuke menacingly growled whereas the blonde frowned in return, purposefully tightened his arm around his best friends neck.

Sakura merely sighed in return, the upcoming headache already making itself noticeable as she cautiously watched her two teammates. They carried on as if Sakura and Itachi –their _Hokage_ \- weren't there and even though Itachi merely watched their exchanged in mild amusement, Sakura was starting to feel her Chakra spark.

"What's your problem teme?" Naruto exclaimed rather loudly . "Jealous because your big brother praised me and not you, eh?"

Sasuke's face held a clearly visible frown as his eyes turned blood-red and the all too familiar Sharingan replaced his onyx eyes. Sakura knew that he only used it in order to intimidate Naruto but after all these years, it was useless.

Sasuke merely huffed. "Shut up dobe, don't get too full of yourself just because he pities you."

Sakura's brow twitched at their antics, what didn't go unnoticed by the Uchiha heir who was watching the pinkette closely. Uchiha Itachi knew that these arguments between his brother and his teammate were normal, just like he also knew that they, like usual, seemed to forget their female companion who Itachi had noticed seemed rather annoyed by them.

His eyes fell on his newly named advisor, his dark eyes carefully taking in the way her fists clenched and even though her expression remained blank, the fire in her emerald eyes was burning brighter than ever.

Interesting.

Haruno Sakura was definitely one of a kind. He knew that she was not too comfortable in his presence yet and he couldn't blame her. She was accustomed to being Tsunade's apprentice and the fact that she now had to be the right-hand-man of a stranger was not easy, even for her.

She was holding back in his presence and yet, he couldn't help but look forward to the day when she would finally unleash that fire that was burning brightly in her eyes.

Naruto and Sasuke continued to throw threats at one another up to the point where they were at each other's throats, holding one another by the front of their shirts and that was when Sakura decided that it was enough.

Sakura stalked towards the two and swiftly grabbed them by the neck, channeling her chakra into her palms so that they would be immobilized.

She felt the two of them tense under her grip and growled lowly in her throat. "You two idiots don't know when to cut it, do you?" Sakura muttered under her breath, lifting her gaze to meet Itachi's dark one.

She fought the urge to gawk as she noticed the way a smirk was tugging at the corner of his lips, amusement clearly visible in his dark eyes as he watched her. She felt herself tense under his gaze, suddenly feeling bare.

Was he actually _enjoying_ to see her mad?

Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, her anger fueled. Why in Hokage's name were all Uchiha's so conceited?

"I apologize for their behavior, Hokage-sama." Sakura reluctantly started, bowing curtly with Naruto and Sasuke's necks still in her hand, forcing them to do the same before he straightened her position again.

"If you would excuse us-" She continued, intending to excuse them so that they would be able to leave this place as fast as possible but surprisingly, she was being cut off in mid-sentence.

"Sasuke, Naruto, you are hereby dismissed." Itachi started, his blank expression back in place and any sign of the smirk that Sakura had just witnessed having faded into nothingness, whereas his eyes once more turned unreadable to the pinkette.

Sakura stiffened as she realized that he hadn't dismissed her yet, much to her confusion. She knew that he was very well aware of the fact that Sakura hadn't had any chance to sleep during the past 36 hours and had also been summoned to the Hospital because of a series of Emergencies, so what could he possibly want her to do now?

Itachi's unwavering gaze fell on her. "Haruno-san, I would like to have a word with you." He clarified, interlacing his fingers once more as he watched how Sakura slowly released the necks of her two teammates, her slightly narrowed eyes still fixed on him.

She was confused, having expected him to send her away with her teammates but he had other plans for the medic.

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a small surprised glance, the former looking at his brother with a frown. He knew best that behind every order of his brother was a reason and if there was something that he wanted to discuss with her alone and without him and Naruto, it had to be something that Itachi didn't want many to know.

Eventually, Naruto and Sasuke reluctantly left the room with Naruto shooting her an encouraging smile before the door fell shut, leaving Sakura and Itachi on their own.

He pursed his lips into a thin line as he looked up at Sakura who was now standing directly in front of his desk with her eyes fixed on the scenery that the window behind him provided her with.

"Have you gathered the reports?" He asked the pinkette, his voice causing her gaze to shift from the window back to him.

For a moment it seemed as if she was processing his words, trying to remember what he was referring to before she gave him a curt nod. The pinkette then performed a series of seals that Itachi was all too familiar with before a staple of files appeared on his desk.

Sakura watched how he carefully eyed the files, his onyx eyes scanning the names that were written on its covers before he hummed lightly. "Did anyone question what you needed them for?"

Sakura shook her head. "No." She told him, shrugging lightly as her eyes fell back onto the files. "A lot of Jonin are nowadays allowed to look into these files so it didn't pose any problems to get them."

If Itachi had heard her he didn't do anything to acknowledge her words as he looked at the first file, his eyes quickly scanning over the content. A few more minutes of silence passed with Itachi merely scanning the files while Sakura had already sunk deep into her own thoughts.

The sound of the last file closing ripped Sakura out of her musings and her attention snapped back to the Hokage, who had once more folded his hands together, his dull stare falling back on Sakura who was expectantly eyeing him.

"I want you to look at the files, memorize every detail of each one of them and give me a report by dawn, sharp."

His order was loud and clear, his tone indicating that there was no room for any objections and yet, Sakura couldn't help but furrow her brows. The files contained the basic information of Konoha's founding and the Blood-traits that existed, nothing that she hadn't learnt at the academy and yet at the time, no one had bothered to pay much attention.

Of course she knew the basics just as well as the rest of the village did and yet, he wanted her to memorize _everything_ that was writing in there?

He was testing her basic knowledge of the village and once again she felt like her small genin self back when she was still attending the academy.

Itachi sensed her calculating gaze and already assumed what kind of thoughts were running through her head.

"Is there a problem?" He asked, causing Sakura's gaze to turn back into focus once more as she forced herself to shake her head in return as she absently noticed the way his eyes flashed in something that she was unable to identify. It seemed to be a mixture of curiosity as well as amusement but the spark disappeared as fast as it had appeared, causing Sakura to frown as she grabbed the files from his desk.

"Of course not Hokage-sama." She tightly returned, giving him a small bow as she tightly held the files against her chest and her knuckles turned white.

He curtly hummed in return and Sakura could feel his eyes boring a hole through her forehead as she straightened again and bravely met his eyes with her own green ones.

"You have a meeting with the council at three and Tsunade-Shishou wanted to speak with you after the meeting." She curtly reminded him, watching how he eyed her for one more moment before he spoke up.

"I know, you are dismissed."

Sakura could have sworn that she had felt her brow twitch at his response. What did he need her for if he knew of his appointments and could just as well assign a chuunin or someone else to take care of the report of his files?

With one last glare at the Uchiha Sakura turned on her heel and left the Hokage's office without as much as a word, leaving him once more alone.

The pinkette was not the least bit surprised to see that Sasuke and Naruto were leaning against the opposite wall, having seemingly waited for her.

As soon as they heard the door open, Naruto pushed himself off of the wall and shot his friend a bright smile. "There you are, took you long enough!"

Sakura offered them a tight-lipped smile in return and tried her best to not explode right then and there in front of his office.

Sasuke instantly noted the pink-haired girl's dark mood and narrowed his eyes, mildly wondered what his brother was plotting now. "What did Itachi want from you?" He asked as the three of them made their way down the corridor, heading outside onto the busy streets of Konoha.

Sakura considered telling them what had happened but then again, she wasn't even sure if she could. Itachi had wanted to address the matter without them around and probably had his reasons and even though his brother was one of her teammates, she guessed that he most likely wouldn't be too thrilled to hear that she had let out her anger at her two teammates and told them what kind of tasks he was giving her.

In the end, she decided against telling them.

"Not much, just some assistance regarding some files." Sakura eventually replied, mentally patting herself on the shoulder since it was partly the truth.

It was obvious that Sasuke and Naruto both didn't fully believe her but fortunately for her, they didn't dwell on the matter for any longer and remained silent. Naruto then broke the silence by starting with his usual chatter and Sakura was more than relieved that they decided to let the matter go.

Together, the boys accompanied Sakura until they have reached her apartment. She had rented it two years ago when the boys and she became Jonin and her mother was not so subtly hinting that Sakura needed to learn how to become an independent woman by moving out.

It was located near to both the Hospital and the Hokage tower what was both convenient and a curse. In case of an emergency it would take her roughly twenty seconds to each the hospital and two minutes to reach the Hokage tower.

Naruto and Sasuke dropped by quite often, occasionally joined by Kakashi no matter if she was asleep, eating or studying. It had become one of their habits to pick her up whenever they had to report to the Hokage, would meet for training or they went on a mission.

"So, see you at the training fields at noon?" Naruto asked Sakura who instantly noted the way his blue eyes were filled with both excitement and hope of her joining them.

She would have wanted nothing more than to do so especially since it's been quite some time since she was able to join her boys at training because most of the time Tsunade requested her assistance at the Hospital when she was free of running errands for the Hokage.

"I would love to, but I have a lot of paper-stuff to take care of thanks to the Hokage." Sakura apologized, throwing Sasuke a pointed and rather angered look as she mentioned the Hokage.

Upon seeing the way Naruto's expression fell upon hearing her words, Sakura instantly felt guilty and offered him a smile. She knew that he had looked forwards to spending some time with the team as a whole without being on a mission and even though she felt the same, she doubted that she would manage to finish the report, get some sleep and help Tsunade out at the Hospital.

"How about tomorrow afternoon? I'll try to convince Tsunade to give me a breather." She tried to cheer up the blonde and after some moments of him seemingly thinking about her words, he gave her an eager nod.

"Alright Sakura-chan." Naruto relented, giving her a smile as him and Sasuke once more started to walk towards the Training Grounds. "Try to get some sleep alright? You look horrible."

Sakura rolled her eyes albeit smiling and shushed them away before she exhaled a deep breath and made her way into her apartment.

Sakura walked up the small flight of stairs until she reached the all too familiar door and kicked it open, the exhaustion now taking the best out of her as she tiredly pushed the door close behind her. She forced herself to pass the living-room without giving into the temptation of simply throwing herself onto the couch and falling asleep right there.

The last time that she had done that, she woke up to a nasty pain in her neck that kept on bothering her even two days later.

Yup, definitely not doing it again.

Placing the files onto the long dinner table in the kitchen, Sakura swiftly passed it before she finally reached her bedroom.

She threw open the wooden door and without any hesitation allowed her body to fall on her bed, a sigh of content escaping her as she was feeling the familiar material of her cashmere sheets beneath her body.

Sakura doubted that she would have the power to change into her sleeping attire and thus, didn't even bother to force her body to move any further.

Instead, the pinkette smiled as she snuggled deeper into her bed and closed her eyes as a sigh of content escaped her.

A lot of things were on her mind and whereas Sakura knew that the moment she would wake up she would be forced to take care of many things at once again, she was willing to do it all just to get a nice few hours of sleep.

Hokage's knew that she needed it.

Without any more delay, Sakura allowed the darkness to entirely take over her vision and without any more difficulty drifted into a deep slumber.


	2. The Ambush

Chapter 2

The Ambush

Blank Onyx eyes skilfully concealed the displeasure that he was currently feeling upon hearing the rather unpleasant news.

It was four in the morning and instead of being home and getting a well needed rest after a rather busy day of being the Hokage, Itachi still found himself in his office instead.

Being in his office at this hour was no rarity for the Uchiha heir and he was not one to complain either, for he already knew that the position of the Hokage was a tiresome one before he accepted the offer.

His office was dimly lit by a small lamp that was placed in the far right corner of the office, illuminating the handsome features of the black-haired male who was sitting behind his desk with his elbows propped onto the table, hands interlaced as a thoughtful expression replaced his usually blank facade.

Itachi's dark eyes slid over to rest on the silhouette that was leisurely leaning with its back against the closed wooden door, their features hidden by the shadows that covered the walls like thick blankets and filled the room.

"How many deaths?" Itachi inquired, his low velvet voice gently cutting through the former silence that filled his office.

The person in return remained still, easily blending in with its surroundings again and whereas other skilled shinobi would have believed them to have disappeared, Itachi, even without his Sharingan activated, knew that they were still very much present.

"Four." The voice once more spoke up, now sullen as they pushed themselves off the wall. The silhouette moved closer, the sound of the persons heels clacking against the floor tiles echoing softly through the spacious room before it stopped, as did their owner.

Itachi lifted his eyes and found himself looking straight into a pair of familiar bright honey colored orbs that held clear displeasure and belonged to none other then his predecessor, the Godaime Hokage and Legendary Sanin Tsunade.

The Uchiha instantly noticed the shadows under her eyes that indicated her lack of sleep, and whereas he was grateful to have her as the head of the hospital he knew that to pity her would be wrong and most likely insult her. Every shinobi had sealed their fate the moment they have decided to become a ninja, and everyone has chosen their own path. They worked hard for what they believed in, so sleepless nights were no rarity for them, especially for a medic as skilled and devoted as her.

Itachi hummed in return, his thoughtful expression turning into a frown as his eyes sharpened upon hearing her words. "Do we know anything about the attackers?" He then asked, a small nagging voice that he tried to ignore for the most part of the conversation in the back of his head continuously screaming names of possible attackers at him.

A weary sigh escaped the blondes plumb lips as she shook her head. "Unfortunately not. They did not wear a forehead protector nor did they use any kind of jutsu that may give their origins or identity away."

Itachi closed his eyes, hiding his dark onyx orbs. It was unusual for shinobi to simply attack without them leaving a trace, willingly or accidentally, a warning or a survivor. This time, the attackers have not planned to allow even one of them to survive and if the team didn't stumble across them by accident, no one would have survived and that itself was unusual and most unsettling.

"Which team found them?" He inquired without opening his eyes.

Silence.

"Team Shisui." Tsunade's curt reply reached his keen hearing, the soft sigh that followed her words not going unnoticed by Itachi.

As he had expected, it had been his cousins team that had found the injured shinobi. As far as Tsunade had informed him, four have not made it to the hospital and died on the way due to either internal bleeding's or blood loss because Team Shisui has been without a medic at the time, and his cousin and teammates only knew basic medical jutsus that could have only prevented them from dying on the spot.

Three have been delivered into the emergency ward in a critical condition and even though it has been Tsunade herself that treated them and only one of them survived.

He would need Shisui's report as soon as possible in order to investigate just what had happened by comparing their reports and finding possible loopholes, things that didn't match up or any signs that may give away the identity of the attackers.

His brows furrowed as he realized that he would have to send someone to deliver the news to Shisui and his team, and that this someone was not in reach at this moment.

Just what did he have his assistant for if she wasn't even with him most of the time, especially in situations such as these?

"Very well." Itachi spoke up as he opened his eyes to reveal a pair of dark orbs that held the faintest spark of annoyance in them. "That's all I need to know. Please order one of the guards to summon Haruno-san on your way out, her presence at the Hokage Tower is needed."

The blonde Princess gave him a curt nod in return but opposed to his expectations didn't move to leave just yet. Instead, the blonde woman crossed her arms above her rather large bust and regarded him with a calculating gaze.

Her honey orbs gave nothing away and were amiss of any emotions as they gazed right back into his eyes. To others, it would have been an unnerving gesture that would have easily intimidate them, but so far not even the Godaime Hokage would manage to get under the Uchiha heirs skin.

"I know that you are not delighted by the idea of Sakura being your right hand for reasons unknown to me but mark my words Uchiha." Tsunade stated, her voice dropping an octave lower as her eyes softened as she mentioned her proteges name. "You won't be able to find someone like her."

It was no secret to anyone that despite of her actions Tsunade cherished her student very much and considered her a daughter of sorts, having taught her everything she knew and accompanied her through her identity crisis back then when his little brothers teammate had some sort of identity crisis, or so he heard.

Both her and Kakashi, as well as several others have suggested her for the position of the Hokage's right hand man and whereas Itachi was not too fond of the idea of having an assistant, he eventually yielded.

It wasn't that he had any reasons to dislike her, and he didn't per se, but he wouldn't trust someone just because of their reputation, regardless of how good they were.

He would judge her by what he saw with his own eyes but as for now, he didn't get to see her a lot.

And he didn't think that it was supposed to be this way.

"I will keep that in mind Godaime-sama." Itachi replied after some moments of silence, his words holding no ounce of empty promises.

Tsunade didn't trust anyone that easily but somehow, Sakura managed to sneak into her heart and that was reason enough for him to keep an eye on the young kunoichi.

Her lips curled up into a small yet earnest smile and with one last nod at Itachi, the blonde finally turned around and made her way towards the door.

"Get some sleep Uchiha, you look horrible."

Fighting the urge to sigh out of frustration at her words, Itachi merely shook his head upon hearing her amused chuckle that followed her words before he tiredly watched Tsunade leave the room and the door falling close with a soft thud.

Tsunade has always been one of a kind, and Itachi was more than relieved that there was only one of her.

* * *

If one were to ask Sakura what she would hate more than Naruto's Ramen breath, her answer would be ANBU.

For a reason, may she add.

She was fast asleep, as any other normal person in Konoha would be at this late hour, until the faint tingling sensation of someone's chakra brushing against her own instantly ripped her rather harshly out of her slumber.

The pinkette drifted into consciousness and needed a moment for her mind to process what was happening before she was fully awake and all of her senses on high alert.

Reluctantly opening her eyes, Sakura blinked a series of times in order to get rid of the blurriness and her vision to clear before her eyes scanned her surroundings closely as she sat upright.

At first, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary and that was the moment that Sakura knew that someone was in her room.

She had felt a chakra signature in her room and thus there had to be someone or at least something but no, there was no sign of anything of the likes and that was a dead giveaway.

Narrowing her eyes, the petite kunoichi suddenly got an idea as to what, or rather who woke her up especially at this late hour and as soon as the realization dawned on her, she pursed her lips into a thin line to keep herself from cursing.

"Why don't you show yourself and make this easier for all of us. I don't feel like playing games at-" She briefly glanced at the clock on her nightstand and upon reading the numbers, felt like continuously banging her head against the headboard out of frustration. "-four in the morning."

And as expected, two figures clad in ANBU uniform all of sudden appeared out of the shadows of her room, their masks firmly in place as they moved to stand in the middle of her bedroom.

Sakura was clearly annoyed by now and inwardly wondered just what ANBU could possibly want from her at four in the morning. Whatever it was could have waited for some more hours, couldn't it?

If it were an emergency at the hospital and Tsunade needed her help she would have paged her, so that was obviously not the case.

Anbu was mostly sent on the Hokage's orders and since Tsunade was not the current Hokage, that left only one person who could have possibly sent them.

"Haruno Sakura, the Hokage requires your presence at the Hokage Tower." One of the two spoke up, his voice flat and amiss of any emotions.

Of course she just had to be right and whereas she loved to guess right in other situations, she all but hoped that this wasn't the case this time.

Sakura heaved a heavy sigh and gave the two a curt nod in return, signalizing them that she had gotten their message, even though she wished she didn't.

She didn't feel like dealing with Itachi this early.

"Alright, I'll just get dressed and leave right after." Sakura curtly informed them as she kicked the blankets off of her with a saddened expression. Were some hours of sleep too much to ask for?

The ANBU in return gave her a curt nod, respecting the medics privacy before they disappeared into a poof of smoke., leaving her once more alone in her room.

Deciding that letting Itachi wait was probably not one of the best things she could do, the Godaime's apprentice swiftly jumped off of her bed and changed into a fresh set of clothes that consisted of her usual attire.

The pinkette swiftly run a hand through her long locks before she put on her forehead protector and stealthily made her way out of the window.

After all, why should she use the door if the window was closer?

Sakura jumped over the rooftops as fast as she could, the cold night air that hit her skin instantly washing away the remaining sleep in her system. The cold breeze coated her like a thick blanket, cooling off the heat that flowed through her body as she swiftly moved through the sleeping village.

It didn't take her long to reach the Hokage Tower and with a brief nod at the guards that seemed way more tired than they should, she made her way to the Uchiha's office.

The two ANBU guards that have paid her a visit a few minutes ago were already waiting for her in front of the large wooden door. As soon as they saw her approaching them, the one with the hawk mask knocked on the door and stepped inside shortly after to ,what Sakura assumed, inform the current Hokage of her arrival.

Sakura couldn't help but notice the way the ANBU guards tone changed upon talking to the Uchiha. She remembered how back in the days when Tsunade was still in office, the ANBU guards seemed to address the sanin with the same amount of respect as they did with Itachi and yet whenever they talked to the Uchiha heir there seemed to be some kind of tension in the air that hasn't been there when they talked to Tsunade.

"Haruno-san, you may go inside."

Sakura gave the ANBU a brief nod and shot him a small smile as she walked into the familiar office with her heartbeat echoing loudly in her ears.

She didn't lift her head until she heard the door shut close behind her and stopped in the middle of the room, her emerald eyes instantly falling onto his form while she mustered up an amiable smile that she hoped would cover up both her rather foul mood and tired expression.

He was leaning back in his chair in a leisured manner, his head tilted lightly aside as his calculating onyx eyes were fixed on her and hell, in the dim lightning of the room he looked dangerous and yet, deadly handsome.

Sakura felt her heart involuntarily skip a beat and mentally cursed her hormones. Sitting in front of her was the Hokage who was also the Uchiha's clan heir and her teammate's big brother, not to mention _her boss._

Damn the Uchiha for being so handsome.

She blamed it on the lack of sleep and quickly dismissed it, hoping that he didn't notice the way her smile wavered just for the split of a second.

"Good morning Hokage-sama." Sakura cheerfully greeted him, hoping that she would at least be able to start the day off nicely for a change. "You have called for me?"

Unbeknownst to her, the Uchiha heir did indeed notice the way her smile wavered for the split of a second and whereas her smile was not fake, she did seem somewhat tense.

Of course he was already used to it from other Shinobi and whereas he knew that people have always had this kind of reaction towards him, he wished that at least his own assistant would somewhat loosen up in his presence.

Itachi hummed in return. "Indeed I did. I would like to discuss something with you that Tsunade-sama has just informed me about. Have a seat Haruno-san."

The Hokage gestured to the empty chair in front of him and Sakura instantly did as told and took a seat, her interest instantly piqued upon hearing that her former mentor was involved.

Itachi instantly noticed the way her brilliant emerald orbs brightened up out of curiosity and found himself pleased by her positive response.

He had gained her full attention.

As for now, the kunoichi was sitting calmly on the chair with her hands folded neatly on her lap, her back straight and her curious and attentive eyes firmly fixed on him. She was the picture of pure innocence and for a moment, Itachi felt the tension that previously filled the room fade into thin air.

It was a nice change, and he found himself growing calmer as well. However, as nice of a change it was they had business to take care of and thus, Itachi didn't beat around the bush and came straight to the point.

"There was an ambush. Four out of Five Konoha Shinobi have been assassinated and the survivor is currently in a critical condition. Team Shisui found them on their way back home from a mission but the attackers didn't wear any forehead protectors." He calmly explained, his words leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. Incidents such as these rarely happened and most importantly, _shouldn't_ happen.

It angered him greatly that his men were dying because of an act of pure hate, as it seemed.

Whether the attackers hatred was directed against them, Konoha in general or him didn't matter, because that did not give them the permission to take someones life just like that.

"They escaped, I assume." Sakura grimly guessed with a frown, clearly displeased upon hearing the news. Her hands that rested neatly on her lap were now clenched, and her eyes were practically burning.

Whereas she knew that deaths and assassination were no rarity in the life of a shinobi, it was still upsetting to hear of an incident such as this one.

Itachi gave her a curt nod in return. "They disappeared into thin air without leaving as much as a trace."

Well that was unheard of. Whenever there was an incident be it on a mission or while simply patrolling the borders or lands and shinobi got attacked, their attackers left something as a kind of warning.

"Tsunade-Shishou treated them, correct?" Sakura inquired, watching closely how Itachi nodded once more, a spark of curiosity flickering in his mesmerizing eyes.

She was thinking of something, and Itachi was curious if the rumors regarding his little assistants intelligence were true. She was smart, that much he already knew, but he would like to know just to which extent and this situation would be just the perfect opportunity to find out.

"May I have a look into the survivors medical records?" Sakura asked with a small smile and upon noticing Itachi's curious gaze, she elaborated.

"I may be able to pick up anything that may help us finding out the origins of the ninja that attacked them. Based on his injuries, I may be able to determine what kind of jutsus they used and even though it's not much, I am certain that there will be something that can help us." She quickly explained, hoping that Tsunade has left the medical reports at the Hokage's office but knowing her shishou, there was a high chance she did, _especially_ in order to get rid of some paperwork.

Itachi was obviously pleased by her explanation and moved from his former position so that he could prop his elbows onto the surface of the wooden desk and lean his chin on his intertwined hands, hiding his small smirk from view.

Without as much as a word or move, a file suddenly materialized itself on the desk in front of Sakura and with one grateful smile towards the Uchiha, she grabbed the folder and quickly scanned it for any signs that may give them away.

At first, nothing seemed off. He had a punctured lung and suffered under an internal bleeding in his thorax that could have easily escalated but fortunately, Tsunade managed to treat him just in time.

Disappointment flooded her system as she was nearing the end of the report and she bit the inside of her cheek out of concentration, the doctor in her not noticing anything strange.

That was, until a certain detail had caught her eye.

Itachi knew that she had found something the moment her eyes suddenly hardened and her expression turned grim and narrowed his eyes upon noticing that instead of delighted upon having found a clue, she looked rather concerned.

"Haruno-san." Itachi mumbled in hope of catching her attention and as expected, said females head snapped up at a speed that could have easily broken her neck.

"I apologize, Hokage-sama." Sakura returned with a small shake of her head as she tried to clear her head once more. "I just found something that seems quite off and out of place."

Itachi in return remained silent, urging her to go on and elaborate and Sakura, instantly getting his point, did so with a heavy heart.

"The clinical-collected lung smear that Tsunade-shishou has done shows that there was a high amount of mineral grains in his lungs." She explained with a heavy heart, not missing the way Itachi's eyes sharpened in an instant.

"Sand?" He mumbled so softly that Sakura almost missed it but upon seeing his hardened expression, she could clearly make out that he was anything but pleased.

Sighing, the pinkette placed the file softly back onto the table and gave him a brief nod. "I am going to look into the autopsy files of the remaining four just to make sure but as for now, I am seventy percent sure that it were sand shinobi that attacked them."

Itachi heaved a sigh at her words and closed his eyes to suppress the upcoming headache but of course, it helped very little. He had not slept for the past fifty two hours and that was just what he needed.

Forming a series of seals faster than Sakura's eyes could pick up, a member of the ANBU suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, instantly bowing down upon realizing that the Hokage has summoned him.

"Wake Shisui and tell him to send his report regarding the incident to my office immediately." Itachi ordered and just as soon as the guard appeared, he disappeared after having nodded once more out of acknowledgment.

Sakura frowned upon realizing that it would take Shisui at least two hours to finish the report and hand it in, meaning that Itachi would most likely be stuck at the office and not be able to return home today as well.

Her eyes softened as she noticed the dark circles under his eyes and without thinking, she voiced her thoughts out aloud.

"You need to sleep every once in a while as well, Uchiha-sama." She briefly reminded him, knowing very well that his health could take a serious hit out of his lack of sleep and since he was the Hokage and didn't even have time to return home, he would most likely not have much time to spent at the hospital because he overworked himself as well.

Itachi's eyes slid over to Sakura and judging by the way his expression somewhat lost it's tenseness, she knew that something was going on in his mind and that she would most certainly not like whatever he would say next.

"I agree." He eventually said and allowed the ghost of a smile to pass his lips. "That's why you'll stay in this office until Shisui's report arrives so that you can have a look at it."

Sakura could have sworn that she felt time freeze the moment he had uttered these words. Her eyes widened considerably out of pure surprise and sheer disbelief and for a moment all she could do was stare at him.

She had walked into that one.

"Pardon me?" She whispered as soon as she had gotten a grip on herself and the moment she had realized just what that meant did she narrow her eyes into dangerous slits.

He couldn't possibly make her stay in here for the next six hours or so. Hokage or not, she was not his lapdog and hoped that it was a very, very bad joke of his.

Unfortunately, Itachi seemed to mean every word of his. "I won't repeat myself Haruno-san." He flatly returned, causing Sakura's eyebrow to twitch out of annoyance.

It was amusing to watch her struggling to hide her anger as well as annoyance and yet, he was able to read her emotions as easily as he could read a book.

She suddenly stood up, the sound of the chair scraping against the ground breaking the heavy silence as Sakura planted her palms firmly on the table and leaned forwards with a frown.

"You can't just lock me in here." She returned, clearly displeased at his demand.

Itachi, in return, smirked and lifted his chin for the tiniest of bit so that they were facing each other, their noses barely touching as her angered emerald eyes met his amused onyx pair.

"I can and I will. Besides, as far as I am concerned you didn't fulfill my most recent request regarding the report that I wanted at dawn _sharp_ either, so you can use the time and finish it until Shisui's report arrives together with the autopsy results of the remaining four victims." Itachi coolly spoke, his voice low and yet, clear at the same time.

Sakura couldn't believe her ears ad what she was hearing. Whereas he was right and she didn't get to finish her report just yet, that was no reason for him to lock her in while he would be at home sleeping.

"What if I refuse?" Sakura inquired, lifting a daring brow at him as she watched his eyes closely for any sign of anger in his eyes.

Much to her surprise and contrary to her expectation, she suddenly found herself gazing into a pair of dark onyx eyes that seemed to be filled with sparks of mild amusement, what only angered Sakura further.

He was quite enjoying himself and narrowed his eyes, skilfully hiding any signs of his pleasure behind a mask of indifference.

"It's an order that you can't refuse." He stated as a matter of fact and with that, shot his assistant a small smirk before he did something that she certainly did not expect-

He disappeared into thin air right in front of her eyes.

All Sakura could do was stare dumbfounded at the place where he head previously been sitting in sheer disbelief and anger and as soon as she realized that he had just left without as much as another word, the pinkette darted towards the door.

As soon as she had reached it she tried to pull it open but no matter how much and how many times she tried, it didn't work, not even with her enhanced chakra strength.

She tried the same with the windows in hope of at least being able to open the window but it seemed as if the Uchiha heir was serious at one point.

He could lock her inside his office and he just proved her by doing so.

Sakura growled lowly in her throat and stomped her foot angrily on the ground, eyes burning as she balled her hands tightly into fists.

"Uchiha Itachi, I swear I will get you for this!"

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! I know that it's been a while but a lot of things happened that prevented me from updating. Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! I can't thank all of you enough for reviewing, following and favoring this story and the past chapter, words can't explain how grateful I am for your support!:)

If you liked this chapter, please let me know by leaving a review!

I'll try to respond to each one and update as soon as possible so stay tuned!

All the love,

Sara.


	3. A new Mission

CHAPTER 3- A new mission

Shisui was beyond annoyed and ready to give his dearest cousin an earful as soon as he'd get the chance to do so.

To say that Shisui was surprised upon feeling the all too familiar chakra signatures at the crack of dawn, though, would have been a lie. In fact, the young Uchiha has already expected them any minute now, knowing that the current Uchiha heir slash Hokage would summon him as soon as he returned and thus, he didn't even bother to go to sleep, regardless of how much he needed it after his latest mission.

The moment the two members of ANBU entered his families mansion was the moment that he took a large bite of the rice balls that his dearest aunt has made him as soon as she had heard of his return, and he could have not cared less about the fact that he must have looked like a starved madman shoving a rice ball down his throat as an desperate attempt to fill his stomach.

Despite of the darkness that covered the kitchen like a thick blanket, Shisui clearly saw his surroundings even without the Sharingan being activated and swiftly gulped down the last bite of the rice ball before he turned around to face his visitors as he wiped his mouth clean with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Let me guess," He drawled with a roll of his dark eyes, clearly unimpressed by the ANBU's rather dramatic entrance by appearing out of seemingly nowhere as he leaned with his back against the kitchen counter, facing his two visitors who were standing in the middle of the room like two mannequins with obvious annoyance. "Itachi wants my mission report?"

The ANBU with the Rat Mask covering his face gave Shisui a curt nod in return, as he had already expected.

Just why couldn't Itachi wait until he got some hours of sleep first? After all, he doubted that anyone in their right mind would willingly read his report at half past four in the morning if it could wait for another couple of hours.

He knew that Itachi wanted to get everything done right away so that they would not waste any more time and instead, swiftly acted to prevent any further damage to both his men and the village that he was responsible for.

He was undeniably a great Hokage and if someone deserved to have his face engraved into the Monument it would be his cousins but at times like this, Shisui wondered just how Itachi managed to work this much without sleeping at all.

"Alright then." Shisui eventually yielded with a sigh as his expression hardened. "You can go now, I'll handle it from here on."

The ANBU instantly did as orders and gave him a curt nod before they faded into thin air with a poofing sound, leaving Shisui once more behind on his own.

Said Uchiha merely shook his head at his cousin and inwardly hoped that he wasn't overworking himself again. Itachi had a knack for doing so and causing both him and his family, especially his aunt, to worry for his well being.

As of late, he has rarely been home due to all the paper-work and incidents during the past few weeks and even though they all knew that being the Hokage was a stressful position, Shisui barely managed to catch a glimpse of his cousin out of the office.

Shisui sighed softly before he grabbed an apple from the kitchen counter-top and decided to get this mission report over with and knock some sense into his thick-headed cousin.

Determined and wide awake, Shisui took a bite of the sour apple and proceeded by writing his mission report for as fast as he could.

He was careful not to leave out any detail and to write it in a way that would leave Itachi unable to come up with any questions that may indicate that Shisui has forgotten to write down something.

Shisui started from the very beginning, the minutes before the incident and ended his report with the exact time that he had passed the villages gates and went back home to the compound.

It took him a total of one hour and fifty-six minutes to complete the mission report and as soon as he was done, the Uchiha rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

Shisui then glanced out of the window and noticed that the sun was slowly beginning to rise, indicating that another night without sleep passed by in a blur.

Damn paper-work.

With that phrase repeating itself in his mind over and over again, Shisui grabbed his report and left for the Hokage tower.

-X-

Sakura was beyond frustrated and ready to turn the office that she currently found herself locked in thanks to the Rokudaime Hokage into a pile of ashes.

She had spent the first ten minutes trying to unlock the seal that Itachi had placed on the windows and doors just for the sake of it and to relieve some stress but after said minutes have passed she, although reluctantly, gave up.

The pink haired medic run a petite hand through her pink hair and grabbed the files that were innocently waiting for her on the Hokage's desk where she had left them and proceeded by sitting down on the Hokage's chair and sprawling them on the surface in front of her.

As soon as Sakura sat down on the chair however, she frowned. This chair was _way_ more comfortable than she had imagined and after some more seconds of savoring the feeling of the rich cushions, she could understand how Itachi and Tsunade were able to sit on it for several hours without any break.

In all of her years as Tsunades apprentice, she never dared to even think of sitting on the Godaimes chair no matter the circumstances and she didn't know what lead her to do so now but frankly, she couldn't care less if Itachi saw her on his seat.

She needed some luxury every once in a while as well and even if it was given to her in the form of a chair, she wasn't one to complain.

Besides, it was his fault that he was stuck in this damn office for Hokage's knew how long anyways when she could do much more productive things at this time instead.

Like sleep, for example.

Well, she decided that dwelling on the matter would do no good either and decided to instead make the best out of the situation and do what she could do best, which was saving lives.

Even if this time she would do so by trying to figure out how to keep the others safe.

She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall out of the corner of her eye and figured that it would take some time until Shisui would arrive with the report, what left her with more than enough time to take care of the work at hand.

Grabbing the first file that she had received from the Hokage the day before, Sakura regarded it for some moments and run her index finger gently over its rough and worn cover.

She still didn't understand why Itachi wanted a report of this file. It was clearly nothing special if all ranked Jonin and above had access to it and at first sight, it didn't seem to differ much from her History book that she had received at the academy.

Then again, Sakura knew better than to judge a book by its cover and was quite curious as to what this file would tell her.

With that thought in mind, Sakura grabbed a pen, a sheet of paper and begun to read.

Sakura sent the next few hours merely sitting there, reading and taking notes of the most useful and important information in it.

Most of what was written in there she already knew, but she took notes so that it would be easier to summarize the file afterwards, It was nothing for the sore eye and due to the lack of sleep, Sakura had to force herself to remain attentive and to not skip any sentence or paragraph.

She had been trained to stay awake for longer periods and to still remain attentive, it was her job a a kunoichi, but she still couldn't stifle the yawn that escaped her.

She never once glanced upwards to look at the clock but judging by the way the sun had slowly risen and brightened up the room with it's warm and bright sun rays, she guessed that quite some time must have passed already.

It wasn't until her keen ears had picked up a familiar, yet muffled voice from behind the door that she dared to lift her eyes from the sheet of paper and lock them on the door.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, green orbs carefully watching the door for even the smallest sign that may give away what jutsu Itachi had used to lock it as she waited for her visitor to enter.

And enter he did, just not by using the door.

In the split of a second, the pinkette suddenly found herself staring at a black shirt that blocked the door from her sight. Her eyes trailed upwards until they locked with a familiar pair of dark orbs that were holding sparkles of amusement as well as surprise.

"You know, sitting behind that desk really suits you." Came the owners voice, and Sakura instantly picked up the teasing tone that laced his words.

Sakura sighed as she placed her pen onto the desk but couldn't help but smile slightly at his words as her eyes brightened.

"Good morning to you too, Shisui." Sakura greeted the older Uchiha as she leaned back in the chair, her eyes traveling downwards until they rested on the small stack of papers that he was holding in his right hand. "Brought me a present?"

Shisui couldn't help but huff lightly, his lips curling upwards into a wry smile. "I guess so, even if I would have preferred to give it to you after I took a nap." He admitted, carefully placing his report onto the table so that Sakura could have a look at it.

The pinkette in return mirrored his expression, sympathizing with him as she crossed her arms across her chest."Well, at least he didn't lock you in his office." She dryly returned and for a second, Shisui could have sworn that he had seen sparks of annoyance in her emerald orbs.

He knew that she was holding back in front of him due to him being Itachi's cousin, but he liked to believe that he and Sakura had somewhat grown to become something close to friends over the past years.

She knew that she could talk freely around him and yet, unlike others she respected his cousin too much to bad-mouth him even behind his back when she did have the chance.

Sakura was an honorable woman indeed.

Shisui gave a light chuckle and crinkled his eyes in an apologetic matter. "Well, Itachi never fails to surprise me with his rather special ways of handling the people around him."

Sakura couldn't have agreed more and snorted upon hearing his words, leaning forwards once more to have a look at Shisui's report.

"No kidding." She muttered under her breath as she opened it to have a look at it. The first thing she noted was that Shisui had a very nice handwriting that was certainly more neat than her own, messy one. It was a blessing to her already sore eyes and helped her to read it faster, what would save both of them quite some time.

The second thing, however, was a sentence that she had almost skipped. Her eyes narrowed in thought as her eyes rested on the words that stared back at her in a mocking fashion.

 _A blue colored chakra Scalpel was stuck in one of the Konoha-nin's legs. It disappeared as soon as we touched it._

Well now that was certainly something that she didn't expect. Using chakra Scalpels in combat was not very common since it requires great precision to form them, more so while fighting and whereas she was able to do so without much effort, Tsunade had once told her that she was one of the rare exceptions. Most were too unfocused, medic or not, to use them in a battle and so far, Sakura had not heard of many that did so with the exception of one person.

Kabuto.

Besides, it was strange enough that the chakra scalpel was stuck in one's leg. After all, the chakra used to materialize the Scalpel should have disappeared the instant the owner of it left.

"A chakra Scalpel huh?" Sakura mumbled silently to herself and pursed her lips into a thin line as she looked up at Shisui, who was still patiently standing in front of the desk.

He nodded curtly in return. "Indeed. I would have deemed it impossible if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes as well but I figured that if someone could explain this rather strange sight, it could be either you or Tsunade-sama."

Sakura hummed lightly and skimmed through the rest of the file before she closed it, her mind already occupied with the issue at hand. She would certainly have to talk to Tsunade-sama about the matter because this was certainly not something that they could ignore.

"Alright then. I'll talk to Tsunade-shishou about it, maybe she knows of someone that capable of doing something like that." Sakura told him before offering him a tired smile. "Thanks for your help Shisui-kun, you probably had no time to get some sleep before writing the report either huh?"

Shisui briefly marveled at Sakura's uncanny ability to read anyone like an open book. Then again, it could have also been possible that the very prominent dark cycles under his eyes gave it away.

He inwardly hoped it to be the first option though, since it would be way more impressive than him walking around like he had just been summoned with Edo-Tensei.

Shisui merely waved her off with a bright smile in return that seemed to lighten up the office in an instant. "There's no need to thank me for doing my duty Sakura-chan, and I'll manage without some more hours without sleep." He assured her, his eyes then fixing on her exhausted features. "Then again,I'm not so sure if the same goes for you."

Sakura sighed in return, her lips tilting upwards into a bittersweet smile. "I still have some work that I have to finish for Hokage-sama. I'll be fine- don't look at me like that Shisui, I won't kill your cousin just yet for locking me into his damn office."

Shisui smirked knowingly upon hearing Sakura and couldn't help but wonder just how long it would take until the pinkette and his cousin dearest would finally get along. Of course, he knew that Itachi was as cold as an ice-cube but she was supposed to be his right hand, a person that he could confide his thoughts and worries in regarding most recent issues like missions, attacks, or get political suggestions from.

Of course, he could always do the same with Tsunade, Kakashi, himself or someone else, but that wasn't the point of it.

And Itachi knew that just as well.

Yet, Shisui knew that it wouldn't take much longer until he would warm up to Sakura because in the end, who wouldn't?

Shisui exhaled deeply and crossed his arms above his chest. "Alright then. Send your teammates my regards and tell Naruto that he broke Rule number 125 and owes me a meal at Ichiraku's!"

The young woman couldn't refrain from rolling her eyes at that but nodded nonetheless. She would never understand them and their codes."Who the hell came up with these damn codes in the first place?" Sakura inquired, eyes narrowed.

The Uchiha in return shot her an apologetic smile. "Sorry Sakura-chan, but I can't tell you. Else I'd break Rule 236A." He apologized before he gave her a quick salute and shot her a wink. "See ya!"

And just like that, he suddenly disappeared into a puff of smoke and left Sakura to be on her own once more.

Blinking, the pinkette slowly closed Shisui's report and shook her head with a scoff. She was definitely spending way too much time with the boys and should probably hang out more often with Ino, Hinata and TenTen.

Massaging her temples, the pinkette then resumed to work on her report that was due until Itachi arrived, what wouldn't be until a few more hours.

The next three hours passed by in a blur. She finally managed to finish the report that Itachi had requested and wrote down a few keywords and theories regarding her recent discoveries thanks to Shisui's reports. Unfortunately, the autopsy results didn't arrive yet so she was unable to compare her notes with them and was left with no more work to do, so she decided to take the liberty and organize the documents, reports and papers on his desk.

Sakura snorted at her own thoughts. Here she was, cleaning his office and sorting all of his papers and files while he was sound asleep.

Oh the pleasure of being the Hokage's right hand man and assistant.

-X-

Today did not seem to be his day.

Itachi frowned as he walked through the corridors of the Hokage tower and towards his office. He had only managed to catch three hours of sleep thanks to none other than his cousin. His mother woke him up, looking rather displeased and demanding to know just why he locked his poor little assistant into his office for the majority of the night until now. Itachi of course, at first confused, wondered where his mother had gathered this piece of information from but after some moments, it clicked.

"Mother, I think that you have misunderstood." He had told her, his velvet voice rough due to the sleep but as soon as he saw his mothers eyes narrow, he realized his mistake.

His mother crossed her arms above her chest."Oh no, Itachi-kun, I think that I understood Shisui _perfectly_ well." She assured him, and Itachi's eyes narrowed in an instant.

So he had been right after all.

Mikoto Uchiha was known for being one of the most loving, caring and kindhearted human beings existing. His father Uchiha Fugaku who was rather strict and rarely showed any emotions and his mother were the total opposites and yet, they balanced each other out perfectly fine.

Then again, his mother was also known for her temper.

And that's exactly what brought him to his current location, with only three hours of sleep and a really bad mood that he certain would only worsen after he'd enter his office.

He had to admit, however, that he was somewhat curious as to whether his little assistant had actually completed her task and had broken the rather easy seals that he had placed on the windows or still hadn't finished her work yet.

His lips pursed into a thin line. He would _certainly_ prefer the first option.

Luck didn't seem to be on his side though. As soon as Itachi rounded the last corner, a small frame bumped right into him.

"Watch it– eep! Hokage-sama!" The petite female hastily bowed deeply, holding a pile of papers in pale, shaky hands as she realized her fatal mistake.

Itachi eyed the brunette girl with bored eyes and moved to simply pass her, but just as he was about to proceed to walk, his onyx eyes caught a certain word on one of the papers that she was currently holding.

"Report." He curtly demanded, eyes steadily fixed on the papers as the teenage girl jumped in place out of surprise upon hearing his voice.

She didn't dare to look up as she held the small staple of papers out to him, her eyes shut close in fear of facing him.

"These are the autopsy results that you have requested Hokage-sama. I-I entered your office but saw that Haruno-san was sleeping and didn't want to intrude." She rushed out in a breath, and Itachi had to admit that he was mildly amused at her rather amusing display.

That was, until he realized just what exactly she had just told him and felt himself freeze for the split of a second.

"Sleeping, you say?" Itachi lowly mumbled to himself, dipping his head lightly aside in wonder just what in Hokage's name was wrong with his little brothers teammate before he took the autopsy-results from the young girl and stalked past her, right towards his office.

Was she really as naive as to allow herself to fall asleep in his office whilst she should be doing her work? A part of him refused to believe it and yet, a bigger part of him knew that it was most likely the truth since this poor girl seemed even too afraid to look at him, not to mention lie to him.

It didn't take him long to reach his office and ever so soundlessly, Itachi pushed open the large doors and entered it in case his assistant was indeed asleep.

And asleep she was.

There, sitting in his chair was the pinkette with her head laying on her forearms on his desk, completely oblivious to his existence.

Itachi didn't know whether he should feel insulted or scoff at her foolishness. He took a few steps closer to his desk until he was standing directly in front of it, his eyes never leaving her face.

The sun rays that were shining through the broad windows of his office were caressing her face like a gentle touch, the soft sound of her breathing filling the silence that filled the room.

Itachi instantly noticed was that even in her sleep, her brows were lightly furrowed and her rosy lips were formed into a small pout. It seemed that even in her sleep she couldn't escape the stress of what she was suffering under.

Itachi's eyes then flickered over to the surface of his desk, that he unexpectedly found organized. There was a staple of mission records that he still had to read on the left corner of his desk, with Shisui's on top of it. Next to it were the papers that he still needed to read and sign and in the middle of the desk he found, much to his surprise, a seemingly finished report and summary of the file that he had given her, just like two loose papers that contained her noted regarding Shisui's report and some theories of her own.

Admittedly, he hadn't expected her to have finished all of it by the time that he arrived and yet, he was pleasantly surprised to see that she had managed to do so. There was still one little thing that somewhat unnerved him.

She was still asleep.

Sakura was seemingly too tired to sense his presence and although he had made sure not to make a sound, she should have sensed his chakra nonetheless.

It was dangerous for a shinobi not to sense others due to exhaustion but then again, Itachi knew that she most likely didn't consider him a threat and thus, she unconsciously decided to ignore it.

Itachi silently made his way to stand behind her and eyed her for another moment before he gently threw the autopsy results an inch away from her face on his desk and watched with satisfaction how the pink-haired kunoichi jolted awake with a soft gasp.

However, he didn't reckon her next move.

The moment the sound jerked Sakura out of her dreamless slumber her senses were on high alert and her eyes open wide. Out of reflex, Sakura grabbed the kunai that was located in her hip-pouch and held it tightly in her fist as she swung it towards whoever woke her.

Itachi was mildly amused at his assistants reaction and grabbed her fist long before the kunai would have come in reach of actually touching him and held it into a stone grip , leaving her unable to move her hand anymore.

The wheels in Sakura's mind were already spinning at full speed and within the blink of an eye she was already using her free hand to pull the second kunai and swung it backwards.

For the split of a moment, Sakura felt relieved upon feeling of her kunai being pressed just an inch away from her attackers neck but just as fast as her relief appeared, it disappeared the moment she felt the cool metal of a kunai that was _certainly_ not hers press against the front of her delicate, bare throat.

It was then that she actually took a moment to swiftly scan her surroundings and as soon as she realized just where she was, she froze in place.

It all came back in a rush. Itachi locking her in his office, Shisui delivering his report and her miraculously and rather foolishly falling asleep on his desk.

Sakura felt like banging her head continuously on the desk as she realized just who was most likely holding the kunai at her throat and just whom she had so foolishly, foolishly attacked whilst being half asleep.

Itachi instantly felt her tense under his touch and couldn't hide the light lift of the corner of his mouth.

It was about time.

"I hope that you slept well, Haruno-san." His velvet voice met her ears in an instant, his lips only inches away from her ear what caused a shiver to involuntarily run down her spine.

Praying to whoever was willing to listen that he didn't notice, she pursed her lips into a tight line and allowed her hand to tighten around the handle of her kunai as she felt the metal of his kunai move closer to her throat. If she would even do as much as breathe wrong, it would break her skin and draw blood.

He was mocking her.

Admittedly, it was her own fault and yet, it still didn't sit her well that he got to tease her when she was the one whom he scared.

"I did, but next time please refrain from rather rudely waking me up like this, Hokage-sama." She gently chided him, her lips then curling into a sweet, yet dangerous smile as she slowly lowered her kunai. "Else you may get hurt."

Itachi dared to arch a brow at her words, clearly not having expected them. Had she just threatened him?

He slowly released her wrist and after a moment of hesitation, but didn't remove the kunai from her just yet. "Was that a threat, Haruno?" He inquired, his voice firm and holding the smallest hint of curiosity that Sakura didn't fail t notice.

Whereas inner Sakura was currently doing a victory dance, outer Sakura's expression was now amiss of any emotions, her poker-face perfectly in place.

"A warning, Uchiha-san." She curtly corrected him, inwardly hoping that she didn't just seal her death-sentence. Then again, it took more than Uchiha Itachi to intimidate her, even though he was very, very good at intimidating people. His mere penetrating gaze was enough to cause goosebumps to appear on her skin, making her feel like he could see into her very soul.

It was beyond unnerving.

"Hn." Was all she heard before she finally felt him retrieve his kunai, allowing her to exhale the breath that she had unconsciously been holding. Turning her head to throw him a halfhearted glare over her shoulder, Sakura then rose from her seat and walked towards the door.

She had done what he had requested and assumed that thus, he most likely didn't require her presence anymore. Besides, she doubted that she would survive any more minutes in this office, especially with him without having to fight the urge to punch him.

"The report and Shisui's file are on your desk. If you need anything, your guards will find me at training field three with my teammates." She told him, inwardly hoping that he would not force her to do some ridiculous work that he could just as well assign to someone else.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like luck was on her side this time though.

"Haruno." His voice cut through the office the instant her hand had touched the door handle, causing her to freeze in place.

Sakura bit down on her lower lip, forcing herself to remain calm and closed her eyes.

 _Inhale._

 _Exhale._

 _Inhale-_

All of sudden, her keen hearing picked up the sound of something whirling through the wind, aiming right for her head and Sakura instantly whirled around, forcing a small amount of chakra into her fingers before she caught the handle of the kunai just before the tip touched her forehead.

"You forgot something." He reminded her as he went through the files on his desk, not even bothering to look up at her.

Sakura lifted a brow at him and slowly lowered the kunai, her eyes never leaving him. A simple well done would have been enough, but she doubted that the Uchiha heir knew how to praise someone in the first place.

"Of course." She dryly muttered as she put her kunai back into her hip pouch. "I appreciate the reminder."

"Noted."

Sakura refrained from running a hand over her face out of frustration and instead settled on simply leaving the office before Itachi would come up with any more tasks for her. Fortunately for her, she managed to do so without him stopping or throwing any more kunais at her.

She just hoped that her teammates were ready for a long, hard training session because she damn as hell was.

-X-

Sasuke had instantly noticed that his teammate was in a bad mood, as had Naruto. The moment he had seen her approach their training ground from his position in the trees, his eyes picked up the way her face was holding a prominent frown and that her lips were pursed.

His eyes flickered to the tree a couple of meters away from him where Naruto was standing on one of the upper branches and instantly caught his blue eyes.

Sasuke arched a brow at him, mutely questioning what the hell he had done now to upset her, but the blonde in return shook his head and shrugged, signalizing him that this time, he really hadn't done anything that may have upset her.

The two of them returned to watching their teammate walk into the center of the training field. She faltered lightly in her steps when she passed Naruto's tree, but eventually continued to walk past it.

Sasuke instantly activated his Sharingan and narrowed his eyes, never leaving her form. That was, until the earth beneath the tree grumbled and was violently shaking. Sasuke instantly jumped off of the tree at full speed and dodged three kunai that came flying right towards him.

Shadow clones.

"Close call, ne Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's voice teasingly called from behind him, but he knew better than to turn around. Allowing himself a smirk, his hands quickly formed the familiar seals before he darted into the opposite direction towards Naruto's tree and placed his fingers to his mouth.

"Katon no jutsu!" He called before the enormous orange flames swallowed the tree that Naruto had formerly been standing on whole. His tomoe was spinning steadily in his blood-red eyes as he scanned the tree for any sign of the flash of pink that he had seen mere seconds ago but of course, it had disappeared just as fast as it had appeared.

"Teme!" Came Naruto's surprised cry as he landed a few meters opposite of him, his blue eyes wide with surprise. "A warning would be nice!"

Sasuke though paid him no mind and merely harrumphed at his words, a small smirk playing on his lips as he caught a movement out of the corner of his right eye.

As he had expected, she had managed to escape the flames just in time. "Pay better attention to your surroundings next time dobe." Sasuke chided his blonde friend, who in return shot him a fox-like grin.

"Ano teme, who said that I don't?" The blonde confidently returned before he disappeared into a puff of smoke. As soon as he did, a muffled grunt reached his ears and his head snapped to his left just in time to see Sakura flying towards him at full speed.

Sasuke jumped out of the way and watched how the pinkette was hurled straight into the base of a tree. Her body harshly collided against the tree-trunk and Sakura winced at the sharp pain that shot through her body upon the collision.

"Sorry Sakura-chan!" Came Naruto's far-away yell and Sakura opened her burning emerald eyes as she scoffed. Leave it to Naruto to apologize to her after kicking her into a tree.

Forcing herself stand back on her feet again, the pinkette narrowed her eyes and looked at her two teammates with a challenging glint in her eyes.

"So you two teamed up against me?" She observed with feigned hurt before she shot them a bright grin that they have come to learn meant no good. "I am honored that you think of me as that much of a challenge."

She heard Sasuke scoff upon hearing her words and her smirked in return. Their training session already seemed very promising.

They have spent the next three hours training that resulted with second degree burns, broken bones and bloody noses. Sometime nearing the end, Naruto had taken Sakura's side and attacked Sasuke as well, but the Uchiha of course expected no less from the blonde.

After all, the three of them all knew that on this training ground, the words allies and teams meant nothing.

"You're idiots." Sakura declared with a sigh as they were sitting on the grass, Naruto with his head on her lap while she was healing Sasuke's upper arm.

Naruto merely groaned in return and covered his ears. "Sakura-chan, why are you screaming so loudly?" He called, shutting his eyes as tightly close as possible.

Sakura glanced at Naruto before her eyes flickered to Sasuke, who merely gave a huff of amusement in return. Her voice had barely been above a whisper and for a moment, she wondered just how hard she had punched him.

"Sasuke, this is most likely going to hurt." She warned the raven-haired boy who simply gave her a nod in return. He trusted Sakura's abilities as a medic and knew that she knew what she was doing, so he saw no point in objecting.

Sakura offered him a weak smile before she forced some more chakra into her hands and added more pressure onto his biceps, causing the muscles under her hand to twitch out of protest.

Then she pushed them downwards.

She felt Sasuke tense under her touch and winced. She applied stronger pressure for some more moments until the green hue around her hands grew weaker and the pain numbed.

Sasuke once more grew more relaxed under her touch and allowed himself a small sigh as he regarded the girl next to him with attentive eyes.

The dark circles under her eyes were more prominent than before and he knew that she was probably exhausted after their training sessions, especially after she healed the dobe and him, so he carefully removed his arm from her hands.

At the confused look that he received from her after doing so, he shook his head. "You're tired." He curtly explained and watched how her forehead furrowed upon hearing his words.

Her stubbornness was well known to the boys, but he would not allow her to faint due to exhaustion simply because she overworked herself again.

"Sasuke, I know my limits." She told him, clearly offended that he was still not confident in her skills. Of course she knew that he was simply concerned, but he should know by know that she knew what she was doing.

As if on cue, a yawn escaped her and Sasuke eyed her with a knowing expression. Sakura merely sighed in return and threw him a look that suggested him to better let the matter rest.

"Sakura-chan, didn't you get enough sleep?" Naruto suddenly inquired, gazing up at her with concerned blue eyes. He also knew that she had a knack of overworking herself up to the point of exhaustion, especially since Tsunade became the head of the hospital and she basically was the one in charge whenever her mentor was busy with other matters.

Sakura couldn't refrain from snorting at his question and shot Sasuke a pointed look as Itachi's face briefly flashed in her mind. "Well, as good as you can sleep while being locked inside the Hokage's office by a certain _someone_."

Sasuke frowned and tilted his head lightly aside as he regarded her with his dark, onyx eyes. "Itachi locked you in his office?" He repeated in a low voice, clearly not having expected that.

He knew that his brother was capable of a lot of things and admittedly, Sasuke was anything but happy when he heard that Sakura got assigned to be his assistant but he knew better than to object.

Naruto's brows furrowed as he looked at Sasuke as well. "I always knew that your brother was weird!" He heatedly declared, clearly upset by the fact that he had dared to lock Sakura inside his office without her consent.

Sasuke's eyes darted to Naruto and glowed dangerously in the bright lightening. "Watch your mouth dobe." He warned the blonde. "I am sure that he had his reasons."

"That still doesn't justify his decision to lock me into his office." Sakura dryly reminded him, her expression turning thoughtful as she stared at a tree behind Sasuke.

She knew that he meant no harm, but that still gave him no right to do things like that. She had heard a lot about Sasuke's brother already and so far he was being a great Hokage. Everyone, especially the Uchiha clan, was more than content with their decision to name him the Rokudaime Hokage. The boys looked up to him while the girls and women were drooling over him.

It seemed like she was the only one that was having issues with him for reasons unknown. She hadn't done anything to upset or annoy him and she tried her best to be of help and yet, whenever she had the feeling that things got even the tiniest bit better between the two of them, they took two steps back again.

She guessed that they simply weren't made to get along with each other.

"Well guys, I'm hungry. Let's get some ramen!" Naruto called as he sat up with a bright grin, ripping her out of her musings. The mere thought of ramen was enough to make him feel better already and Sakura couldn't help but smile at him.

She loved her boys with all her heart, she truly did, but if they were to keep up their eating habits she doubted that they would manage to live until their thirties without their liver giving in.

She absently heard Sasuke mutter a "disgusting" under his breath and caught the disapproving glare that Naruto shot him as the two of them stood up. The two of them each offered her a hand that Sakura gladly accepted and together, they pulled the medic onto her feet.

She shot them a bright smile and linked her arms with hers. Whereas Naruto returned her bright grin with one of his own, Sasuke's blank expression didn't change, the only exception being the softening of his eyes.

Together, the three of them made their way off of the training ground and towards the heart of the village where Ichiraku's was located at.

Sakura sighed out of content. At least her day couldn't get any worse, now could it?

-X-

Then again, it apparently could.

She and her teammates were enjoying their ramen at Ichiraku's together with Kiba, Shino and Hinata whom they had coincidentally met on their way there. Naruto of course had instantly invited them to join them. Whereas Naruto and Kiba were having an eating contest, Sakura gleefully chattered with Hinata about the Hyuuga's latest mission in the land of snow while Sasuke and Shino exchanged a few sentences every once in a while with each other.

Sakura was finally at peace, enjoying some time off with her friends when she suddenly felt an all too familiar presence appearing out of seemingly nowhere behind where she was sitting.

The hairs on the back of her neck were standing upright and she dared to lift her eyes just in time to see Naruto from opposite of her looking at the person behind her with an uneasy smile, before his pity filled eyes fell on Sakura next.

"Haruno-san." Came the familiar voice from behind her and she felt her heart skip a beat. And here she was thinking that her day couldn't get any worse.

Sighing, the pinkette turned around on her seat and came face to face with none other than Uchiha Itachi.

He was standing closer than Sakura had expected and her emerald orbs instantly locked with his dark onyx ones that were gazing down at her. She noted that in comparison to before, he was now dressed in his usual attire and even though his gaze was locked with hers, she knew that his senses were on high alert for whatever reason there was.

"Yes Hokage-sama?" She inquired, her gaze turning questioning as he shifted his weight onto his other foot, causing him to lean lightly towards her.

The narrowing of his eyes told her more than enough, but he spoke nonetheless. "Pack light clothing and package. Meet me in my office in ten sharp." He spoke, voice low so that only she could pick up his words, and Sakura instantly nodded in return.

Something was wrong. He seemed troubled by something, what was a rarity itself and thus Sakura didn't dare to open her mouth and complain or object. Also, it seemed like she would have to leave Konoha for some days as well and if he wanted her at his office in ten minutes sharp, she would have to hurry.

Itachi Uchiha was no man that liked to be left waiting.

* * *

A/N: Here we go! I hope that you liked this chapter.

Now to the reviews from last chapter:

 **Starshinerose18** : Thanks!The Itachi locking Sakura into his office Scene was rather spontaneous so I am happy to hear that you liked it!:)

 **Guest** : Thanks a lot! Glad to hear/read that you liked the scene!

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Also a big thank you to everyone who favored, followed and read this story so far! Please let me know if you liked this chapter as well by leaving a **review**! It's always nice to hear your thoughts and opinions on this story, they're what keeps me motivated:)

Until next chapter!

Love, Sara.


	4. The beginning

CHAPTER 4- The beginning

"Uchiha, cease the sulking."

Itachi was glad that he was facing the window and that Tsunade was unable to catch the way his eyebrow twitched out of annoyance. He was standing in front of the broad windows of his office and faced the village that laid beneath the Hokage Tower whereas Tsunade was comfortably seated on the chair, _his_ chair, behind his desk and went through his assistants report.

"I don't think that there is any reason for me to sulk, Tsunade-sama." Itachi calmly returned, his voice betraying the annoyance that he felt after hearing her comment.

Uchiha Itachi did _not_ sulk.

He could practically see her rolling her eyes at him in return. "I know that you are anything but delighted regarding our most recent decision, but it's not as bad as you make it seem."

Itachi frowned. It wasn't like he was against the idea itself, he proposed it after all, it was rather the conditions that he wasn't too happy about and Tsunade knew it.

"Besides," The blonde once more spoke up after some moments of silence have passed, a teasing smirk on her lips as she rested her chin on her palm. "Sakura is an intelligent and strong young woman. Not only can she take care of herself, she also possesses quite a lot of diplomatic skills that I am sure will come in handy on your journey to Suna."

The Uchiha heir exhaled a soft sigh and closed his eyes. It wasn't like he didn't want _Sakura_ to join him, it was simply that he didn't want _anyone_ to join him. He didn't need any unnecessary baggage on a mission like this and would be faster on his own but of course, as soon as he told Tsunade about his plan she suggested that he should take her student with him.

"I don't need her." He once more insisted, but he knew that it would change nothing. Tsunade was a stubborn woman and once she wanted something her way, it would be her way.

Tsunade drummed her fingers against the wooden desk in return, seemingly bored. "I begin to think that you need her more than you know, Itachi." She uttered under her breath and just then a knock echoed through the office.

She smirked as she glanced at the clock that was hanging to her right. "Would you look at that, two minutes early as well." Tsunade ignored the amused huff that she earned from Itachi as he as well turned around to face the door, defeated, and smiled mischievously."Enter!"

Itachi lifted a dark brow at Tsunade upon hearing her call and mildly wondered just who the current Hokage was. She was sitting in his chair, in his office and allowed people to enter without even bothering to acknowledge him.

He heard the sound of the door opening but allowed his gaze to remain on Tsunade. "I didn't believe that you would miss your position as the active Hokage this much." He commented as Sakura entered the office, oblivious to what was going on.

As soon as the pinkette was fully standing in the room however, she found herself mildly surprised at the sight that greeted her. Tsunade was sitting behind the desk and seemed to be beyond amused whereas Itachi was standing next to her and looked like he was at his wits end.

It was a strange sight indeed.

"Don't worry Uchiha, I am glad that it's you that has to deal with the staples of papers and the council instead of me." She said, patting his arm before she crossed her arms above her chest and gave Sakura, who still looked beyond unsure as to what was going on, a smile. "Punctual as usual, Sakura-chan."

Sakura returned her mentors smile with an uncertain one of her own. It seemed like Tsunade found a new victim and whereas she did pity him to some extend, she was glad that she was off of the hook for now.

"Tsunade-shishou." Sakura greeted her old mentor before she turned to Itachi, her smile turning sympathetic. "Hokage-sama."

Itachi gave her a curt nod in return. "Haruno-san." He politely returned, his hope for a calm and fast journey fading with every second that passed. Sakura was an intelligent woman, he knew as much, but if rumors were true and she possessed her mentors thick skull and temper his doom was certain to be near.

"Well Sakura, I am sure that you're wondering why Itachi suddenly summoned you to his office." Tsunade started, voicing the pinkette's thoughts as Sakura in return merely nodded.

She indeed wondered why Itachi would want to see her in his office this fast and this soon but now that she knew that her mentor was involved as well she already had quite a few guesses.

"You will accompany me on my journey to Suna."

 _That_ , however, was certainly none of them.

Sakura blinked and he watched her eyes light up with a mixture of surprise and confusion before they fell on him. She obviously didn't expect this and when her eyes flickered to Tsunade for the split of a second, as if to ensure herself that he was indeed serious, his brows furrowed for the smallest of bits.

"Suna?" Sakura echoed as Itachi nodded once more and leaned sideways against the desk with his arms crossed above his chest.

"Yes." He confirmed. "There are a few matters that I personally have to discuss with the Kazekage." He explained, his face not away any clue as to what these matters could possibly be.

Of course Sakura already had the sneaking suspicion that it was related to her recent discovery regarding the murder of their shinobi but knowing Itachi, she would only find out if this was the case if he wanted her to.

"I see." Sakura mumbled as she forced a small smile on her face. She was anything but delighted upon hearing that she would have to travel all the way to Suna with Itachi but she professionally masked her disappointment.

She hoped that Itachi summoned her because he planned to send her on a solo mission, or at least a mission for Team Seven but that was not the kind of mission that she looked forward to.

However, she was aware of the importance of this mission and would not complain about it, regardless of whether she liked it or not. She was a kunoichi and a mission was a mission, she couldn't always choose what she liked.

"As I see that you've already packed, it would be best if you two leave as soon as possible." Tsunade advised them, expression now serious. "Four Anbu members will follow you at a safe distance in case of an ambush. Sakura, you will join Itachi as his advisor and the two of you should be back in around two weeks. No one is to know of either Itachi's absence nor of his journey to Suna, understood?"

Sakura nodded in return and tightened her hold on the strap of her yellow backpack, ignoring the way her stomach made a flip. "Hai, Tsunade-Shishou. I'll do my best."

Tsunade waved her hand . "I know that you will." She assured her before she turned to look at Itachi, who was eyeing Sakura with calculating eyes. "Ready?"

The Uchiha pointedly ignored Tsunade and kept his eyes fixed on Sakura, who met his blank gaze with her own stubborn one. "I expect you to be at the gates in two minutes." He told her, and as soon as he uttered these words he disappeared within the blink of an eye.

As soon as he was gone Sakura allowed herself to exhale the breath that she was holding and shot Tsunade a helpless gaze.

She however merely smiled in return, and Sakura had a feeling that this mission would turn out to be her hardest one yet.

-X-

They have been traveling for the past three hours without taking a break and even though Sakura didn't want to admit it, she was slowly beginning to feel tired. She could have easily carried on if she wouldn't have trained with Sasuke and Naruto earlier but then again, she couldn't have possibly known that Itachi would summon her right after either. She sighed.

Troublesome.

They continued to jump from tree to tree, Sakura facing his back in silence while her senses where on high alert. So far they fortunately haven't stumbled across anyone or anything unusual, meaning that they would most likely reach Suna within the next two days if everything went according to plan.

Itachi was thinking along the same lines as they were running through the woods at full speed and noticed the way Sakura's chakra flickered the tiniest of bits. He expected her to speak up an hour ago to suggest a break but surprisingly she carried on without doing as much as to utter a word.

Itachi inwardly sighed. He could have easily carried on running for another hour or so but knowing that by then her chakra would be fully drained, he decided that there would be little sense in wearing her out.

Itachi continued onward until a small clearing came into his sight minutes later and he dropped down onto the ground, waiting for Sakura to do the same. The young woman was slightly surprised to see him stop rather abruptly but didn't dare to comment on it and instead, took it as the Kama's answering her silent prayers as she jumped down as well.

The clearing was spacious, but not too large either. They would be able to make a small fire but not gain too much attention at the same time either, what was exactly what Itachi deemed fit for them.

"Hokage-sama?" Sakura questioned, the night air causing a shiver to run down her spine as Itachi's dark eyes met hers.

The Uchiha's expression was blank. "You'll have three hours to rest. After that I expect your chakra to be fully recharged." He curtly informed her before he turned around and moved to sit down at the base of one of the trees.

Sakura's eyes widened for the split of a second upon hearing his words before she pursed her lips into a thin line, visibly displeased at what he was indicating. "I assure you that I'll be fine without any rest." She firmly returned, brows furrowed.

It was true after all. Sakura would manage for another hour if she had to, but she knew just as well that she would end up even more exhausted and it would take her chakra additional hours to fully charge, but Itachi didn't need to know that.

She didn't want to be an inconvenience and have him think that she needed a break every three hours, what certainly wasn't the case. She didn't want to burden him any further with her presence and yet he was making it quite hard for her to get her point across.

Despite of the darkness she could easily make out the way Itachi's eyes sharpened. "Your chakra is almost fully drained and you are visibly tired. I doubt that you would be fine without any rest and I would certainly like to avoid having to carry your unconscious body to Sunagakure after you have passed out due to your drained chakra, so I advise you to rest now while you have the opportunity to do so."

Sakura's eyes narrowed upon hearing his words and he instantly noticed the way her eyes brighten up in the darkness of the night, emerald orbs filled with displeasure. She remained standing a few meters away from him, back straight and fists tightly clenched at her side and Itachi could tell that she was doing her best to keep herself together.

She was a temperamental woman, he knew as much, but she seemingly was quite stubborn as well.

"Do you think of me as that foolish?" She inquired, clearly insulted. "I am a medic, I know my limits and _especially_ my chakra."

Itachi lifted his knee and leaned his elbow on it, his expression doubtful. "If you really knew your limits Haruno, you wouldn't be wasting the time that you could use resting with trying to convince me that you are able to carry on whereas you clearly aren't." He returned, voice holding a hint of annoyance. Here he was, providing her a chance to rest and gather some energy for the long hours that still awaited them and yet she complained.

Sakura could have sworn that her brow twitched and bit on her tongue. She knew that if she went on to discuss like this it would lead nowhere, especially since she knew that it was impossible to argue with the Uchiha. Not because he would have won, Sakura clearly knew how to get her point across, but because he would eventually grow tired of their argument and stop, what would leave Sakura even more angry than before.

"Very well then." Sakura breathed, head held high and eyes hard. "I advise you to get some rest as well though. We wouldn't want you to get abducted in case of an ambush, what would leave me to get you out of trouble and frankly, I don't feel like doing so at the moment _Hokage-sama_."

Itachi huffed upon hearing her words, his eyes fixed on the young female as she walked over to a tree opposite of his and slumped onto the ground as well. She then leaned with her back against the rough tree trunk and gazed upwards at the dark night sky that was filled with tiny sparkling stars, the moonlight that filtered through the tree that she was leaning on caressing her face gently.

"You truly believe me to be as weak as to get abducted?" He asked, his voice laced with the smallest hint of curiosity that didn't escape Sakura.

The pinkette couldn't stop herself from smiling upon noticing that he seemed to be sincerely interested in her answer and inwardly rolled her eyes. "I'm not calling you weak." She sighed as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the fresh night air on her skin."But I am not calling you invincible either. Regardless of how strong you are, you are still human, Hokage or not."

Itachi hummed curtly in return and regarded her for another moment, genuinely interested. Now that he got the opportunity to formally talk to his advisor, he finally had a chance to find out more about her. After all, he still needed to ensure that he hadn't made a mistake by accepting Tsunade's offer and taking her as his right hand.

Whereas he didn't distrust her, he didn't know whether she was the right one for the position. The Hokage needed someone whom he could get advice from in case of an emergency or regarding political matters and he didn't know if Sakura was fit for this position and would be able to keep a clear head, or if she would start to panic as soon as things would be looking bad.

"I am not invincible." He agreed. "However, the chances of me getting abducted are very low and the chances of you having to aid me in my escape are therefore close to nonexistent."

This time, Sakura actually opened her eyes and turned her head for the smallest of bits to look at him, green eyes gleaming with amusement. He sounded so confident and seemed so convinced by his own words that she couldn't help but wonder if this was another one of the traits that the Uchiha shared.

Sakura met his confident gaze with her own amused one, all thoughts of sleep having completely left her mind.

"I am certain that there will be a day when you will be in the need of my help whether you'll like to admit it or not." Sakura confidently returned, certain that she would forever remember the day when she would need to help the oh-so-great Uchiha heir.

She mentally snorted.

Itachi arched one of his brows, his blank expression firmly in place. He clearly doubted that he would ever need her to help him regardless of what kind of circumstances they would find themselves in, not because he thought of her as useless but rather because she seemingly didn't even know how to help herself.

How would she help him if she refused a mere three hours of sleep in order to charge her chakra?

"Unlikely." He curtly replied, watching how Sakura's eyes were seemingly burning, just waiting for the opportunity to prove him wrong.

Sakura's smile turned into a small smirk as she turned her head back and once more faced the stars."I wouldn't be too sure of that, but in the end you'll see it for yourself." She told him, sounding confident herself as she closed her eyes and decided to get some rest before they would leave again. The pinkette wasn't necessarily tired anymore, but she knew that this would be her only opportunity to get some rest for the next day or so.

Itachi watched how Sakura slowly drifted into a light slumber and fought the urge to shake his head at her. She was stubborn and confident in her skills, and she even went as far as to challenge him.

Itachi tried to think back to the time when someone had mustered up the courage to speak this open with him and as expected, couldn't think of anyone with the exception of the pink haired kunoichi.

Whereas he knew that she would never disrespect him, she didn't hide herself behind a mask of forced politeness either and Itachi had to admit that it as a refreshing change. Ever since he became the Hokage, people would watch their every word and spoke with an amount of forced kindness, feigned concern and faked interest that sickened him.

So far, no one tried to prove him wrong and Itachi would like to see Sakura trying to do so.

He would be fine on his own, and he would ensure that Sakura would come to learn that as well.

-X-

"Two rooms, please."

The woman behind the counter gave Sakura a bright smile and bobbed her head before she scribbled something down on a blank sheet of paper. The girl seemed to be even younger than Sakura and despite of the fact that it was four in the morning, she seemed quite motivated and wide awake.

Sakura and Itachi have traveled for the past twenty-four hours and entered the Lad of the Wind an hour ago. It has been raining the entire day and by now both Sakura and Itachi were soaked to the bone, Sakura having suggested to look for a place to rest over the night to which Itachi wordlessly agreed.

"All set." The young girl chirped with a bright smile as she handed Sakura two keys, her hazel eyes shining brightly in the dim lightning of the room. "Your rooms are on the second floor, 206 and 207. Enjoy your stay and if you need anything, just give me a call!"

Sakura didn't miss the way the brunette's eyes flickered to Itachi's when she had said the last part and gave her what she hoped to be a polite smile when she noticed that Itachi didn't even bother to acknowledge her.

Said Uchiha merely put a not too small amount of bills on the counter before he took a key from Sakura without uttering as much as a word and proceeded to walk towards the stairs.

Poor girl.

"We'll make sure to do that." Sakura swiftly assured her, all the while inwardly cursing the Uchiha's for being so handsome and having this effect on girl. Poor her would probably remember Itachi for the next years judging by the way she dreamily gazed after him.

The medic gave her a small wave before she turned around and jogged after her boss. She managed to catch up with him halfway up the stairs and silently followed him, too tired to comment on his rather rude departure.

Itachi and Sakura managed to find their rooms without any problems and since they have already discussed the details of their departure on their way to the inn, they entered their respective rooms without exchanging any words with the exception of the soft goodbye that Sakura mumbled before she closed the door.

Itachi closed the door behind him with a soft click and dropped his pack on the ground next to the plain bed that was placed in the corner of the room. He removed his wet shirt and used a katon jutsu to lighten up the fireplace in the opposite corner of the room so that his shirt could dry before he laid down on the bed, facing the ceiling.

He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep.

There were too many things on his mind, too many thoughts and concerns that left him unable to give into the sweet temptation of sleep that was trying to pull him into the darkness of the night.

When was the last time that he had been able to get a proper sleep? He couldn't remember.

It's been like this ever since he could remember, even before he was named the Rokudaime Hokage. He has encountered sights that others could not even imagine and was forced to grow up at a very young age.

Itachi has always been different, he realized that the moment that he entered academy and noticed the way the children looked and acted around him. He always was rather reversed but even after all these years passed people still treated him like he was special, if not even dangerous.

That' why he got along with Shisui this well. Shisui understood Itachi and his concerns, his mind set and his perspective on life.

In a world this cruel and judgmental it was hard to survive in between people that only thought of themselves first.

He rarely encountered anyone who was actually unafraid to freely converse with him without fearing him or his actions if they were to get on his bad side.

That was why he didn't want an assistant. He didn't want to depend on anyone and liked to take care of things himself, this way he was sure that everything would be properly taken care of without any problems .

The image of a pink haired kunoichi flashed through his mind and Itachi sighed softly.

She was still innocent in a way and hadn't even seen half of what he did and yet, she wasn't naive either. Sakura seemed to be rather realistic and didn't fear to speak her mind, what was quite refreshing for Itachi. Of course she was quite stubborn and thick-headed but in the end it was better than having someone as his assistant who didn't even dare to breathe without his permission.

Itachi scanned the area with his chakra and was not surprised to feel Sakura's calm signature, indicating that she was sound asleep.

At least one of them was able to properly rest.

Itachi stayed like this for the next hour, deep in thought when he all of sudden sensed the chakra signature one of Konoha's Anbu Shinobi hurrying into the direction of his room.

Itachi narrowed his eyes and moved to stand up from the bed. Gradually, one by one unveiled their chakra Signature and when he moved to walk over to the window and activated his Sharingan,he gazed outside at the small sleeping village and waited.

The first signature went out like a candle light and it was then that Itachi moved over to put on his shirt and vest before he grabbed his packs and left the room, heading straight for Sakura's.

They had to leave.

Standing in front of her door, Itachi didn't even bother to knock and instead formed the signs of the familiar jutsu. Knowing Sakura, she most likely sealed the door and indeed, the soft sound of the lock opening broke through the silence as soon as he formed the last sign.

He pushed open the door and entered her room without making a sound. As soon as he was inside, he gently pushed the door close and turned around to scan the room.

Almost instantly his blood-red eyes fell onto the sleeping form of the young kunoichi. Despite of the darkness, he was able to make out even the tiniest detail of the room with the aid of his Sharingan. The pale sheets covered her body up to her waist and her shoulder-long rosy hair was sprawled on the pillow, shining in the light of the fire that softly burned in her room.

Her expression was peaceful and for a moment, he almost felt bad for having to wake her.

Then again, it was her own fault for not sensing what was going on.

Itachi walked over to her bed and contemplated how to wake her before he reached out to gently shake her shoulder.

What he didn't expect was that just before his fingers would have touched her body her eyes suddenly shot open wide and her arm shot out and grabbed a fist full of his shirt, forcefully yanking him downwards while she used her other hand to grab her kunai from under her pillow and placed it against his neck.

Itachi acted as soon as he realized what was going on and faster than her eye could pick up he grabbed her forearms and pinned her on the bed before he twisted her wrist so that the Kunai that she had been holding slipped out of her grasp and fell on the ground next to her bed.

He used his right leg to keep her legs from moving and looked down at her, clearly irritated whereas she gazed up at him through half-lidded eyes. It was then that he realized that she was still half-asleep and had purely acted out of instinct, having most likely believed that someone tried to attack her in her sleep.

When Sakura's vision cleared and she realized that a pair of red eyes were staring back at her, a pair of _very_ familiar red eyes, she frowned.

Where had she seen them before-

It was then that her fuzzy mind began to clear and that she remembered just where she was and just whom these eyes belonged to. Sakura felt her insides freeze at the realization and inwardly groaned. This had to be a dream, a really bad dream because if this was reality Sakura doubted that she would survive the next minute judging by the way his irritated eyes locked with her own confused ones.

"You really have to stop doing that." She breathed, unsure of what else to say in this kind of situation. Well it wasn't everyday that she would wake up to Itachi pinning her on the bed either.

Their noses were almost touching and the eyes that others would have been too afraid of to stare into were locked with her own, his arms still keeping her firmly in place. A strange sense of deja-vu overcame her and suddenly, images of the time when he woke her in his office flashed through her mind.

She frowned at her own thoughts. Why was it that he always managed to sneak up on her? She usually always managed to sense approaching chakra signatures, even if masked, so this was a first.

"You have to be more on alert."

Then again, he wasn't helping her much either.

Sakura pursed her lips into a thin line and opened her mouth, ready to retort when Itachi suddenly lifted his eyes and tensed.

Within the next second he yanked her arms towards him and wrapped his own around her waist, pulling her against him in a flash before he rolled down from the bed just when the sound of the wood splintering reached their ears and a huge flame shot through the inn's wall from the outside, burning the bed that they laid on a second ago.

He held her against him as she inhaled sharply out of surprise, eyes locked on the flames that brightened up the room and slowly crawled up the walls.

Sakura clearly didn't expect the walls of her room to get blown up by a huge ball of fire and after a moment she felt like groaning. Great, just what they needed. Someone trying to grill them and Itachi's ego pushed because he saved her once more.

Of course this wasn't the first time that something like this happened, but the circumstances have always been different. Sakura mildly wondered who would be in their right mind to willingly attack Itachi and her.

"What the hell is going on?" Sakura questioned as Itachi pulled her up, all sleep having left her system when Itachi released her and walked to the other side of the room.

"We're under attack." He flatly returned as he grabbed her backpack and tossed it at her. Sakura easily caught it, her expression blank at his rather uninformative explanation.

She quickly slung her backpack over her shoulder and followed him out of the room. "I can see as much." Sakura returned, her voice irritated as they hurriedly went down the stairs.

Itachi didn't even turn to look at her. "If you are aware of what's going on then you shouldn't have asked."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from arguing any further even though inner Sakura was screaming at her to do so. He would get an earful from her regarding his attitude when they would arrive in Suna but until then she would have to keep herself together for the sake of their mission. Itachi was seemingly in no good mood either and as for now they had more important things to take care of.

Like escaping before the entire building blew up, for example.

The other visitors were throwing curious glances out of their doors and windows, looking for the source of the loud sound that caused them to wake in the first place but the two of them pointedly ignored them as they went outside.

Itachi stopped in front of the small wooden building and scanned the area with his Sharingan, Sakura standing by his side as she patiently watched him.

After several moments passed, Itachi moved his head to look to his right with a displeased frown. Something was not right. Whereas he had been able to sense the attackers and Konoha's Anbu shinobi a mere minute ago their signatures were now gone, as if none of them have ever been here in the first place.

"Come." He muttered the command so softly that it almost escaped her hearing but when he took off Sakura instantly followed him with a heavy feeling in her gut.

They run through the empty roads of the sleeping village and jumped from roof to roof like shadows in the night, not leaving a sound. Sakura noticed that they were headed back to the woods close to one of the rivers that they have crossed on their way and suddenly felt wary.

Why were they traveling back?

She soon received an answer to her question, however it was not the kind of answer that she would have liked.

At first, it was a mere white blur in the trees but when they got closer she felt her heart sink when she realized just what this white blur was.

There, hanging from one of the branches of a tall tree was one of the Anbu that were following them, their mask still in place and limp body hanging from a sickening angle.

She knew even before she reached him that he was dead.

"The other three are close as well. One is at the base of a tree in the far back, another one's burned corpse is hanging from one of the branches and the last one is laying on the ground a few meters back, whether he is alive or not I can't tell." Itachi informed her, slowing down as he jumped onto the branch where the first one was hanging from, Sakura following suit.

Her eyes softened out of pity when she noticed that his body was slung over a broad branch and that the back of his skull was open, looking as if an animal had bitten into it. Her eyes then moved lower and when her eyes fell on his neck she furrowed her brows. There was a clean cut on the back of his neck that couldn't have possibly been the result by a kunai. It was too deep, to thin and too precisely done. Whoever it was that attacked him must have had some kind of medical knowledge because this didn't seem like a battle injury to her.

"Uchiha-san," Sakura softly mumbled as she knelt down next to the dead shinobi, eyes fixed on his neck. "Could you please check on the others and look for anything that may seem off to you?"

"Aa."

Itachi took off without as much as another word and left Sakura alone once more.

The pinkette clenched her hands for the split of a second before she slowly opened them and moved to lay a glowing green hand a meter below the cut, her senses tingling and chakra burning when she did so.

The second Sakura's chakra entered his body to scan it, it felt as if someone had just filled her veins with acid. Her skin felt as if it was on fire and she removed her hand from his body with a pained gasp, loosing her balance in the process what forced her to channel chakra into the soles of her feet so that she wouldn't fall down the tree.

The pinkette's wide eyes flew to her throbbing hand in wonder but contrary to her expectations nothing seemed to be off with it, the only exception being the burning sensation that filled it.

"What the hell?"

The burning gradually began to fade until only a dull throbbing sensation remained in her them that was quite annoying but fortunately less painful in comparison to the feeling before.

Something like this never happened before. Sakura has always been careful and only put a small amount of chakra into a person's body whenever she wanted to do an internal scan but she never once experienced something like this, not even with poisoned people.

She looked from it to the corpse, then back at her hand.

At first there had been a tiny pull on her chakra that she almost didn't notice but as soon as she did , it felt as if someone had forcefully shot it back into her body and set it on fire in the process.

Definitely unsettling.

"Just what did they do to you?" Sakura mumbled in mild wonder. She would have to report to Tsunade about what happened when she wanted to examine him so that the blonde would be prepared beforehand when their bodies would arrive in Konoha.

"Haruno." She heard Itachi call her from somewhere on the ground, ripping her out of her thoughts

Sakura took it as her cue to leave him and with one last regretful glance at the fallen shinobi of her village, the pinkette jumped down the tree and made her way towards Itachi.

He was kneeling next to the one that was laying on the ground a couple of meters away from the others, his Sharingan scanning the Anbu's body when she arrived. The first thing that she noticed was that there was a large hole in the middle of his chest, their clothes slightly ripped at some places and Sakura knew that he probably died the second that their attacker pierced their chest.

"Left thigh."

Sakura's eyes trailed down his chest to his left thigh and as soon as they did, her eyes sharpened. Stuck in the middle of his left thigh was a sort f metallic object that was engulfed by a light blue object that Sakura would recognize anywhere in an instant. After all, she used it plenty of times before herself and for a second, Shisui's words entered her head.

"A Chakra Scalpel." She finally said as Itachi nodded in agreement. Both knew that something like this was supposed to be impossible but here it was, stuck in the thigh of one of their Shinobi without it's owner anywhere in sight.

The Chakra signature that it consisted of was a foreign one and compared to most others it felt icy instead of warm and filled with life.

This chakra signature felt dead, yet alive at the same time. It was unlike anything that the two of them have ever sensed.

"Apparently, someone isn't too fond of us." Itachi observed, the coldness and displeasure that laced his words sending a shiver down Sakura's spine.

Something has been set into motion and both of them knew that this was only the second attack from many more to come.

Konoha was once more targeted.

* * *

A/N: Welcome back!:) I know that it's been ages since I've last updated and I humbly apologize. Quite a lot of things happened and even though that's no excuse for the lack of updates, I hope that you can forgive me!

I wanted to thank all of you for your support so far and am truly grateful for every single one that read, favored, followed and reviewed my story so far! I am beyond happy to hear that you like it so far and hope that you will continue to support me throughout the story. _**Your support**_ is what kept me going so far and is highly appreciated!

This chapter was only the beginning of their mission and there are a lot of things that will happen during their stay in Suna, so stay tuned loves!

Now to the reviews from last chapter:

 **Shyzuka** : Sorry for the long wait, but here you go!

 **Guest** : Thanks for reviewing:)

 **Yarney Liag** : Merci beaucoup! This is only the beginning and our favorite characters are going to face quite a turmoil so stay tuned!

 **Mbravesgirl7** : Thanks!:)

 **Guest 2:** I hope that your question has been answered:) But you're right, it's an exception since it's of great importance but you'll find out more about it next chapter!

 **CagedBird112** : Thank you so much!

 **Zombie Reine** : Oh it's only the beginning;)

 **NuteWelt01** : She definitely needs some sleep, but Itachi seemingly doesn't like her to do so in his chair.

 **Dattebayodobe** : Thank you!:) I am trying my best to make this story seem as realistic and reasonable, just like the characters and their feelings so I hope that you'll like it!

 **Starshinerose18** : Thanks a lot, I hope that you liked this chapter as well!

 **Writemoresoon** : Will do!

See you next chapter!

All the love, Sara.


	5. Preparations

CHAPTER 5- Preparations

The two reached Suna within the next day without any further incidents. They barely exchanged a word during their travel but Sakura couldn't say that she minded at all. The silence allowed her to carefully think about everything that happened on their mission so far, starting from her and Itachi's small argument until they found the corpses of their Anbu backup.

It simply wouldn't leave her head. She knew that many people wanted to see Itachi dead for various reasons, probably thrice the amount that disliked Tsunade as the Hokage. She knew that he used to be in Anbu as well and even though she didn't know what kind of missions he carried out, she knew very well what kind of missions were assigned to the members of Anbu. Additionally, he was the Uchiha heir and it was no secret that there were people who disliked the clan. Most loved, admired and respected the infamous clan and their Police Force and never dared to openly challenge or comment on them both out of respect and fear, but there have been quite some incidents where one would do so and in the end, pathetically beg on their knees for forgiveness.

Death was something that Sakura was more than familiar with. It was nothing that she hadn't seen yet, especially as the head-medic of Konoha's infamous hospital and member of Team 7. She didn't like it, but came to accept it as part of life that would inevitably touch all of them someday but if she could save someone and keep death away from them for a little bit longer, she would do so without any hesitation.

Sakura turned the water hot and sighed out of relief as the hot liquid run down her body and soothed her aching muscles. She was beyond grateful that Gaara didn't expect them in his office for another two hours, what left her more than enough time to take a nice long shower in the rather spacious bathroom that was connected to her room after hours of running through the hot desert under the burning sun.

The pinkette hummed softly as she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower before she shrugged her white bathrobe on. A nice shower has always worked miracles and was enough to lift her mood whenever something saddened or bothered her and as soon as her chakra would be fully recharged again, she was certain that she would be back to her best self again.

Sakura dressed into a fresh pair of clothes that consisted of a red sleeveless qipao dress with black shorts and black sandals before she tied her long, still damp cherry blossom colored hair back into a low ponytail and left the bathroom with a smile on her lips that instantly brightened up her entire face.

A knock echoed through the silent room as Sakura was about to take out one of her medical textbooks, but as soon as the noise reached her ears she stood up and went to answer it.

Halfheartedly already expecting it to either be a guard to pick her up for some unknown reason or Itachi, Sakura was surprised to see that it was none of these two that greeted her upon opening the door.

Instead, standing in front of her was a familiar young woman with her unruly sand-blonde hair tied up into four short pig-tails. Her hand was on her hips and the all too familiar smirk present on her lips as her sparkling teal eyes fell on the young pinkette that greeted her.

"So the rumors were true after all." She drawled, her smirk turning into a sharp smile. "Sakura Haruno came all the way to Sunagakure and didn't even bother to tell me about it. You probably intended to leave without telling me as well, huh?"

Sakura's smile turned into a heartfelt grin as she moved forwards to pull the sand kunoichi into a strong embrace. "It's good to see you too, Temari."

Temari, clearly taken off guard, awkwardly patted Sakura's back until the pinkette pulled away and moved aside to let her enter her room. The blonde entered and Sakura closed the door behind her before she sat down on her broad bed while Temari decided to remain standing and instead leaned with her back against the broad window that brightened the room.

"Well, what brought you to our village?" The blonde inquired, seemingly curious as she crossed her arms above her chest and gazed down at Sakura who in return shot her an apologetic smile.

"Hokage business." Was the curt answer that Sakura could offer her but just as expected Temari gave her an understanding nod in return.

"Thought so." She commented before she turned to look towards the door, brows furrowed. "I am usually the first to know whenever any of you plan on visiting us, regardless of whether it is business related or just to see my brother, so it surprised me to hear that the infamous Hokage and his side-kick were in town and that I didn't know."

Sakura couldn't help but lift her brow at her words and fought the amused smirk that played on her lips as she threw one leg over the other. "Side-kick?" She inquired with a disbelieving snort, this title clearly being a first.

She was used to being called the most different kind of names that were either related to her status in Team 7, her being the head-medic or her hair-color, but Temari was the first to comment on her position as the Hokage's advisor and assistant.

"Yes, Side-kick." Temari confirmed, her playful glare causing Sakura to chuckle. It was nice to finally have someone to joke around with again after her rather busy schedule lately and Temari never failed to make her laugh. It was a year ago when she visited Konoha as an Ambassador of Suna and Sakura was responsible for showing her around the village that the two of them grew closer. Sakura knew that Temari carried a lot of responsibilities and many burdens on her shoulders as the bigger sister of the Kazekage and Kankuro, and that was exactly why they seemed to bond so well.

Sakura herself still carried a heavy burden from her past around with herself and knew all too well how lonely the road and how heavy the weight could get.

"You're lucky, you got one of the nicer rooms on this floor." Temari commented as her bright eyes scanned her surroundings closely. "Though, it looks like you only got the second best room on this floor." Temari observed, the sarcasm that laced her nonchalant tone causing Sakura to roll her eyes with a smile.

"Oh my," Sakura drawled as she allowed herself to fall back on her bed and turned her emerald eyes heavenwards to look at the ceiling. "I wonder who got the best one."

The blonde in return hummed as she tipped her finger on her chin with a sly smile. "Such a pity Sakura, I heard that the best room even got air-conditioning as well."

Sakura groaned as she laid a hand on her forehead. "I can see why he wanted to become the Hokage. I mean Air conditioning?" The pinkette pouted as the heat in the room seemingly intensified at the mentioning of air conditioning. "If that's what you get for being the Hokage then sign me up."

"That can be arranged."

Sakura tensed and could have sworn that her heart skipped a rather painful beat as the all too familiar voice filled the room. She didn't need to turn her head to the owner of the voice to know whom it belonged to and instead, the pinkette moved her gaze to Temari who instantly caught her eye with a smirk.

Sakura's eyes narrowed accusingly at the blonde.

 _Traitor._

"Hokage-sama, welcome to Sunagakure." The Suna ambassador greeted the Uchiha with a bow of respect and a polite smile on her face, as required by Suna's etiquette. Itachi straightened from where he formerly leaned against the door in a leisured matter and returned the gesture with a curt nod.

"Thank you, Temari-san." Itachi replied, his deep velvet voice adding to his rather intimidating looks. "The Kazekage was looking for you, if I am not mistaken it's something regarding your brother." He told her and this time, Temari didn't even bother to hide her annoyance upon hearing the news and rolled her teal eyes at the mentioning of her brother.

"This idiot probably caused some trouble again." She muttered under her breath as she narrowed her eyes and exhaled deeply before she gave him a grateful nod. "Thank you, Hokage-sama, I shall take my leave then."

Itachi gave her an understanding nod and moved out of the doorway to allow her to pass. The blonde gave him a polite smile before she turned to look over her shoulder and offered her pink-haired friend a lazy salute. "See you later, Sakura."

Sakura, who clearly related to Temari's annoyance, sat up on her bed and shot her friend a sympathetic smile and a wave of her hand before the door fell shut, leaving Itachi and Sakura once more on their own.

Sakura pointedly ignored the heavy silence that filled the room and instead tilted her head slightly aside as she turned to look at Itachi in mild wonder. "I didn't expect you to arrive this early. Did anything happen?"

He didn't look like anything happen, but Itachi wasn't one to appear out of nowhere just to chit-chat with her. It didn't seem as if he had any injuries either, she assumed that he had taken a shower as well and marveled at the sight of his lean and muscular arms that were visible through one of the black custom Uchiha shirts that he was wearing. He wore his usual pants and a pair of black Sandals and other than the fact that he looked slightly tired.

Itachi shook his head and moved over to look out of the window, hands folded behind his back as he gazed out at the scenery. "Nothing happened, I just came to discuss the schedule for our stay. It would be wiser if we discussed it so that in case of an emergency we will know where to meet up."

Sakura's mouth formed an 'o' out of realization and the pinkette gave him a nod before she turned from where she was seated so that she could see his profile. "How long are we going to stay?"

Itachi's face didn't even show a flicker of emotion. "If everything goes according to plan, we'll leave the day after tomorrow. After we've discussed our most recent incidents and discoveries with the Kazekage, there will be a political gathering tomorrow evening which we have to attend."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, clearly confused. "We?" She inquired, wondering why she would have to attend such a gathering. Of course she knew that there were plenty of gatherings that Shizune or even her had to attend with Tsunade when she was still an active Hokage, but they usually never attended without a reason.

This time, Itachi's gaze sharpened for the smallest of bits. "You will accompany me as my advisor. There will be several other ambassadors, advisers and others of high political status attending." He clarified, and it was then that Sakura realized that something was off. All of this didn't add up and Itachi was no man who liked to do things spontaneously.

"I thought that no one with the exception of Suna's highest ranked shinobi are supposed to know of our presence here." Sakura reminded him, not liking where this was going. She already had a couple of assumptions but she needed him to confirm her thoughts nonetheless.

"I doubt that it matters now that the one's that are after us already know where we were headed." He paused. "This is why we need to turn the tide now."

Sakura tensed as her eyes darted to his. She finally understood what he was indicating and knew that this would happen sooner or later, but she never expected him to take that approach this soon.

"Got it." A sigh, followed by a humorless smile. "Guess I am in charge of keeping all the drunk ones away from you?"

The Uchiha heir now turned to fully face her as he sideways leaned against the windows til, expression blank but eyes sparkling with something that she recognized as concealed amusement. He was seemingly content with her decision to follow his orders without questioning them as she usually liked to do, but Sakura would make sure to remind him that this would not be the case all the time.

"Now that you suggest it, it sounds like an appropriate task for my advisor."

Sakura rolled her eyes, trying to seem annoyed but failed at her attempt to hide her smile. "The great Uchiha Itachi in need of his assistants help in handling drunk statesmen. This could become a bestseller."

Itachi shook his head and she barely missed the way a corner of his lip twitched upwards into a dry smirk that eerily reminded her of the one that Sasuke always wore before he turned back to look out of the window. "We don't know what will expect us, so we should be prepared, especially since many people are going to attend this event."

"Alright, if I can handle Naruto and Sasuke in their worst moods, I think that I'll be able to handle them just fine." She assured him, confident that a group of high ranked shinobi would not pose a greater problem that her two teammates to her. During her time as Tsunade's apprentice she managed to learn a lot about Fire countries politics. Whereas she never was a fan of the rather boring meetings or having to feign interest in their tiring conversations, she knew that it was important to show Konoha from its best side.

She wasn't unfamiliar with getting information either, thanks to her kunoichi training. Sakura had a knack for getting the needed information out of someone if she believed him to be suspicious or to know something of importance to them, so that wouldn't be much of a problem to her either.

"You may believe to be familiar with their way of thinking from when you attended meetings with the Godaime, but you have only scratched their surface." Itachi interrupted her thoughts, his voice cold and firm. "Every one of them has their dirty secrets that allowed them to get this far and they don't particularly like curious pinkette's sticking her nose into them."

Sakura frowned, offended. "I think that after all these years as a kunoichi I would know how to keep my intentions hidden, Uchiha-san."

Itachi exhaled, his shoulders still tense as he closed his eyes. "I wouldn't have told you to keep an eye on them if I believed you to be incapable of doing so. Stay alarmed and don't dig in too deep, a kunoichi like you is not ready to face such secrets yet."

Sakura's eyes softened ever so slightly at his words and even though she could have easily taken offense to them, she knew that they were more of a warning rather than a hit at her skills. He didn't want her to get caught up in an even bigger mess and for a moment, Sakura wondered just what Itachi Uchiha has already seen of this world.

"Why do I feel like this is the same case with you?" She inquired, her voice having dropped a few octaves lower as her eyes softened. The words escaped her before she could stop them, but she didn't regret it.

Uchiha Itachi was a reserved man of little words who liked to keep his privacy and even though he seemed like the invincible Hokage of Konoha, Sakura knew that she had only managed to scratch _his_ surface.

There was more to him, and she would make sure to find out just what kind of man Uchiha Itachi really was behind the cold mask of indifference that he wore.

Silence followed her question and just when she thought that he may not answer anymore and brush it off, he opened his eyes to reveal blood red eyes that moved to lock with her surprised emerald ones. The black wheel was still, not spinning but since it was the first time that Sakura actually got to see it, she couldn't help but keep her eyes on his.

Sakura always was fascinated by this Blood trait and always forced Kakashi to allow her to take a look at it in hope of understanding how it worked. She knew for a fact that Kakashi's vision was slowly getting worse and it was only then that she realized that maybe the same was happening to Itachi as well.

His Sharingan was different though. She couldn't explain why, or how it differed from the others, but she just knew that these eyes have witnessed more horrible sights than they should have.

"I am no exception."

With that, he disappeared into a blur and left her on her own.

Sakura stared at the place where he was standing at mere seconds ago and laid a hand on her forehead in order to stop all the questions from filling her mind.

She never realized before, but maybe Itachi Uchiha was more dangerous than she believed him to be. Him being the Hokage only proved that fact. She has only heard rumors about the great Uchiha prodigy having been part of Anbu before he became the Hokage and the Hokage was known for their dirty business, so who knew what kind of dirty secrets he was hiding?

Now she found herself even more curious about Uchiha Itachi's life before he became the Hokage, but she was certain that her curiosity would eventually result her witnessing the Sharingans powers first hand, and that was something that she could gladly live without.

Uchiha Itachi was a mystery that would forever remain unsolved.

* * *

"My oh my, look who my dear friend the Sandman brought us this time."

Sakura rolled her eyes as she continued to walk down the corridor, completely dismissing the voice that suddenly appeared behind her. She glanced down at the staple of papers in her arms, ensuring that she had not forgotten anything that Gaara told her before she rounded a corner in hope of being able to avoid the owner of the voice.

She was in a rather sour mood in the first place and certainly didn't have the patience to deal with _him_ now. Her clothes were sticking on her skin, her head was throbbing and her patience was running thin.

This damn Uchiha.

"Oi, Sakura!" The voice yelled before she heard hurried footsteps approaching her from until they slowed down and the person fell in step next to her. "It's not nice to ignore your friends."

She didn't even need to look to her right to know that he grinned at her in a way that would send a chill down every onlookers spine. Sakura however was already more than used to it and pointedly ignored both the grin and his mere presence in the first place.

"Kankuro, as you may have noticed I am not in the mood to chit-chat with you." Sakura sighed, praying to whoever was willing to listen that she would get through the day without breaking someone's neck. She liked Kankuro and appreciated that he simply wanted to lend her some company and brighten up her mood but right now, that was the last thing Sakura needed.

All she wanted was to get to her room, work through the papers and enjoy the silence of the evening.

Kankuro lifted a brow and hummed out of wonder as he followed Sakura towards her room. "How can anyone not be in the mood to talk to _me_?" He inquired in feigned disbelief, causing Sakura to snort in return.

"How can anyone be in the mood to willingly talk to you?"

"Ouch."

Sakura couldn't fight the smile that pulled at her lips and shook her head at his antics as the two of them made their way down a flight of stairs, Kankuro following her like a long lost puppy what of course, didn't go unnoticed by the kunoichi.

"Let me guess, you're bored and need someone to annoy after you just escaped Temari's attempt of beating you into a bloody pulp?" Sakura deadpanned before she blew a strand of her hair that came loose out of her face, emerald eyes fixed on the corridor before her.

Kankuro let out an uneasy laugh as he scratched the back of his head and it was then that Sakura decided to actually take a look at him and noticed that his usual attire was absent. Instead, he was dressed in a pair of black pants and a worn white undershirt that was drenched in what she assumed was sweat.

"Let's not talk about me." He said with a wave of his hand, swiftly dismissing the topic. "What got your panties in a twist this time?"

Sakura unconsciously gripped the files that she was holding even tighter and shook her head as the mage of a certain Uchiha flashed in front of her eyes. Sakura may be known for her bad temper but she would never go as far as disrespecting her elders or superiors, even though this time she was having a very hard time holding back all the curse words that teased her tongue like a feather.

Instead of unleashing them though, Sakura forced her lips to curl upwards into a sweet smile that was formally dripping in sugar as she innocently tilted her head aside and eyed him through narrowed lids.

"Everything's fine. Why would you think that something's bothering me?" Sakura asked whilst inwardly hoping that he would get the clue and leave her alone. Unfortunately, this was Kankuro and he never got the clue, regardless of the circumstances.

Kankuro snorted upon hearing her words and lifted a disbelieving brow at her, clearly not buying it. Sakura's smile fell within the split of a second and instead morphed into a displeased frown.

Well so much about getting off the hook.

"I'm fine Kankuro, really." Sakura attempted to assure him, although just halfheartedly. "It's just that a certain _someone_ decided that it would be a great idea not to inform me about a change in our schedule, what resulted with me waiting in front of Gaara's office for an hour until he passed by and told me that the Hokage would not return before dawn and that he left me an entire stack of medical files to review so that I would not get 'bored' during his absence."

Kankuro blinked, for the first time unsure of what to say. Even though he was not unfamiliar with the duties and politics of a Kage he knew that this had to be a first, especially since it was an Uchiha that she was talking about. Kankuro bit the inside of his cheek before he poorly tried to mask the chuckle that threatened to pass his lips with a weak cough.

Sakura bristled and fastened her pace, not planning on holding this conversation any longer and much to her relief, she found herself standing in front of her room mere moments later.

Oh how she wished that Naruto was here so that the blonde could run off with Kankuro and pull some of their stupid pranks on some clueless villagers.

"Aw come on Sakura, you can't possibly be mad at him just because he wants you to drown in all these reports until he comes back." Kankuro drawled as he jogged after her in order to catch up in hope that she would not lock him out.

Sakura huffed. "Mad? No, that would be quite childish of me. Displeased and more than ready to give him a piece of my mind when he returns? Definitely."

Sakura formed the familiar signs with her free hand and was relieved when she heard the clicking sound of the door as soon as she formed the last one. Ignoring Kankuro's not-so-manly pout, Sakura pushed the door open with her hip and entered it without sparing him a glance.

"Goodbye Kankuro."

Just as she pushed the door close with more force than was necessary Kankuro placed his arm in between so that it wouldn't fall shut. Sakura's expression turned into a frown while her eyes sparkled with a mixture of annoyance and anger.

She liked Kankuro, she really did, but he was doing nothing that came even close to brightening up her mood.

"Kankuro, find someone else to annoy. I have some files right here that apparently need my attention." Sakura stated, not sounding too convinced by the last part herself but in the end, work was work. If Itachi wanted her to review the filed there was little that she could do against it.

It was part of her job whether she liked it or not and until she would get to leave on a mission with Team 7 or her help at the hospital was needed, she would have to come on terms with her new responsibility.

Kankuro pushed against the door and shot Sakura a satisfied grin when she yielded and allowed him to enter, although reluctantly.

He remained standing in the doorway though and leaned sideways against the frame, a wide grin on his lips as he eyes her up and down in a matter that made Sakura want to punch him.

"You know what, I was just on my way to the training grounds and I think that you it would be a good idea if you would let out some of that stress of yours by destroying some trees with your freaky power." Kankuro commented as he tilted his head aside. "Wanna join me?"

Sakura stilled in the middle of her room, the files in her hand burning and her expression thoughtful as she actually considered his offer. Of course she knew that she could not defy the Hokage's orders and should take care of the files first and yet, Kankuro was right. She really needed some distraction and besides, Itachi didn't bother to inform her of his departure either.

Sakura lifted her gaze from the floor to Kankuro and gave a deep sigh, already knowing that she would regret it later on.

"I'll be there in ten."

Kankuro's eyes lightened up like the candles on a birthday cake before he gave her a salute and turned around to take off, obviously content with the twist that his day had taken. "Perfect. See you there in ten, and don't you dare be late!" And with that he closed the door shut behind him, leaving Sakura once more on her own.

Sakura shook her head placed the files on her wooden desk with a loud thud. She eyed the stack of papers with calculating eyes as she contemplated if she would really manage to review all of them if she were to actually join Kankuro now.

It would be a lot of work and quite time-consuming to go through all of them. She would also need a lot of silence, patience and some food since she would most likely be forced to pull an all-nighter if Itachi wanted them revised and reviewed by tomorrow morning but then again, why shouldn't she have some fun before she would seal her death?

Besides, the political gathering was tomorrow evening as well and she would have to accompany him, all dressed up whilst pretending to get along perfectly well with the Hokage who was currently wasting not only her potential but also precious time all while using her feminine charm to get some information regarding the most recent attacks on Konoha's shinobi from some drunk and perverted high ranked shinobi.

Oh Itachi would owe her big time for this.

With newfound determination, Sakura allowed herself to smile as she put her hands on her hips and gazed out of the window, clearly content.

She would allow him to treat her like his little secretary for now, but Itachi would soon realize that Sakura Haruno was not one to be taken for granted. He may be used to get everyone do what he wanted without objecting but she would not be one of these people.

His status and position didn't matter to her and she truly hoped that he would realize this because Hokage or not, she would not tolerate to get treated like this.

She didn't train under Tsunade's supervision for years just to get stuck as his little secretary that he didn't even take serious to begin with.

If he wanted to mess with her that was fine, she would allow him to play his game until she would deem it fit to show him how to win because Sakura would do anything to win, especially if her opponent was none other than Uchiha Itachi.

* * *

"Are you certain that they will attend the gathering tomorrow, Hokage-sama?"

Itachi gave a nod as he gazed down at the sleeping village from his position on the balcony. It wasn't like they didn't expect it to happen, but to hear their informants confirm it was quite displeasing nonetheless.

It was quite unfortunate that not even one simple gathering could be held without someone causing any kind of commotion. Both Konoha and Suna were targeted the most ever since they have formed an alliance years ago and there were many who opposed to the alliance itself, the leaders of the Hidden Villages and the way they ruled.

Then again, no one would ever be satisfied with whatever they would do. Human beings were indeed a strange species.

Now that someone obviously targeted Konoha and they suspected that some of Suna's shinobi were involved it was important for Itachi and Gaara to work together from the very beginning on.

Of course Itachi didn't plan on involving Gaara in every plan and investigation, but it was important for the Kazekage to know what was going on in his country and that someone was trying to threaten the peace that they were currently having.

Gaara moved to stand next to Itachi and crossed his arms above his chest as he as well gazed down on the village, unblinking.

"Does Sakura know?" He inquired, lips pursed into a thin line as his thoughts wandered to the pink haired medic. The pinkette was an intelligent young woman that would greatly benefit Konoha and Suna's relationship even without her position as the Hokage's right hand. It would only be right for her to know of their most recent discoveries, especially since she was probably the most loyal person to Konoha there was, with the exception of Naruto and the Hokage himself.

"The less people know, the less commotion there will be." Itachi replied after a moment of silence and if Gaara was surprised upon hearing his words he didn't show it.

Whereas it was true that Itachi told Sakura to keep her eyes and ears open for anything that may seem or sound suspicious he didn't plan on completely involving her. If this was only a minor incident and they would find the one who was behind this it would only cause much more drama and gain more attention than necessary.

If this situation were to get out of hand and cause further threats to Konoha and its inhabitants however he would make sure that it would stay on the low until this problem would be taken care of. Else, the ones involved may get into further danger than was necessary.

Gaara lowered his head ever so slightly and closed his eyes. "Some things can't always remain hidden in time, Hokage-sama."

Itachi's gaze hardened. The dark circles beneath his eyes seemed more prominent, his eyes seemed colder and his posture was stiff as he spoke.

"They'll have to remain hidden until I rid the world of them before anyone else finds them."

* * *

A/N: Hmm, who else is curious and wants to know what happens on the gathering next chapter?

After ages, I hereby present you an Update!

I apologize for the long wait and hope that you'll forgive me. As always, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and want to thank you for your support by following, favoring and reviewing!

If you liked this chapter, please leave a review and tell me so. Your reviews are what keeps me going!

All the love,

Sara


	6. Tag

CHAPTER 6- Tag

"Damn Haruno, red really suits you."

Sakura couldn't suppress the smile that tugged at her lips and gazed at her reflection, inwardly agreeing with Temari. The blood red Kimono that she was wearing fit her body in all the right places and enhanced the feminine curves that she had gained over the years. She run her hand over the soft cherry-blossom-colored obi that was wrapped around her waist and savored the feeling that it left under the skin of her palm. The long and broad sleeves were decorated with blossoms that were the same color as her obi and created a beautiful pattern that run along the edge of the material.

Sakura couldn't remember the last time that she received the opportunity to dress up for such an event, and she couldn't deny that it was a nice change from her usual attire that usually consisted of either training outfits or her everyday clothes.

Her long bubblegum-colored hair was skilfully tied back in a braid, two loose strands framing her glowing face and she knew that Ino would be proud of her if she were to see her like this, if not even a little jealous.

"It's beautiful Temari, thank you." She said as she averted her eyes from her reflection and instead settled them onto the blonde girl that was sitting on her bed, dressed in a dark purple kimono herself. Temari simply looked stunning; confident yet dangerously beautiful.

"Don't mention it Sakura. Consider it a thank you gift for taking care of all the drunkards with me because trust me, even though it doesn't sound that bad you'll get what I mean later." Temari shook her head with a grim expression, the bitterness in her voice not escaping Sakura.

The pinkette however knew that she would have to be careful, especially since she was going to attend as Itachi's advisor, what meant that many people would want to talk to her. She hoped that Itachi didn't have as many foes as she believed him to because if that were the case, she would be an easy target tonight.

It wasn't like she didn't know how to defend herself, all the years of training under Kakashi and Tsunade's supervision had taught her more than enough, the only thing that bothered her about a possible attack was that more people would get wind of what was going on and that was something that she would like to avoid.

She always liked a good exercise every once in a while, though this time she doubted that she would manage to spare her beautiful kimono and that itself would be a bigger tragedy than Romeo and Juliet's love.

"When does the gathering begin?" Sakura inquired as she turned around to fully face Temari. As far as she was concerned, all she knew was that it would start at noon, but no one ever bothered to tell her a concrete time.

Temari merely smiled smugly at her question and examined her nails. "It started a few minutes ago already, but no one expects you and Itachi-sama to arrive for another fifteen minutes or so. After all, they're pleasantly surprised that the two of you are joining us in the first place." She reminded Sakura, who in return gave her a curt nod as she evened out the lower part of her kimono.

"Alright then, I'm ready."

Temari gave her an encouraging smile before she dusted her kimono off and rose from where she was seated on the bed that belonged to Sakura during their stay before the duo headed into the corridors that lead downstairs to the great hall where the gathering would take place at, completely unaware of the withered lily that was resting on Sakura's windowsill.

* * *

"Hokage-sama, Kazekage-sama," A young woman timidly called as she entered the conference room that Itachi and Gaara were currently seated in, not daring to meet their eyes as she made a sharp stop at the entrance and bowed low. "Sakura-san and Temari-sama are ready to leave for the gathering."

Gaara curtly nodded as his blank eyes drifted over to Itachi, whose onyx eyes clashed with his own.

The girls had perfect timing.

According to Itachi's men, their last guests on the list just arrived together with his wife and so far, everything was going according to plan. The number of guests arriving, their slightly belated appearance thanks to Sakura and Temari and the amount of security that Gaara had posted in the entire village in case any of them got any ideas.

The soft voiced kunoichi left the room the instant Gaara inclined his head, getting the hint and leaving the two males on their own. Itachi was the first one to stand up, closely followed by Gaara who followed the Uchiha heir out of the door without a word.

As soon as Itachi left the room and entered the hot corridors of the Kazekage Tower, his eyes caught sight of his little brothers pink haired teammate. She was oblivious to his arrival, laughing at something the Kazekage's sister has said and he used that moment to allow his onyx eyes to roam her petite form.

The first thing he noticed was that the kimono that she had chosen complimented both her figure and her long hair, the dark color perfectly highlighting her pale skin. Her hair that held the color of the soft cherry blossoms on a fresh summer day was tied back into a french braid and yet, it did nothing to dim the bright fire that her emerald eyes held.

It was when Gaara joined them that she seemingly noticed their arrival and her her bright eyes snapped to his, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips at the sight of them.

He was surprised to find that a part of him, however small it was, found comfort in the fact that his arrival, for a change, didn't cause any looks of discomfort, fear or frowns of disgust being shot his way. No, this time it seemed to actually please others for a change, and he found that this tiny part of him actually made him relax to a certain degree.

"Hokage-sama, Kazekage-sama." Sakura spoke, her soft voice steady as she gave them a bow, Temari following suit. Itachi lifted a brow at his assistants behavior, slightly taken off guard by the formal way she addressed the both of them.

Sakura's smile turned secretive whereas Temari's smirk spoke volumes. Sakura was very much aware of the Uchiha's questioning stare and as much as she wanted to challenge it with a lifted brow of her own, she had a plan to stick to.

"Well then brother, why don't we lead the way?" The blonde sand-kunoichi suggested as she clapped her hands in delight, earning a less enthusiastic nod from Gaara in return as she moved next to him and the small group of four began to walk, Itachi and Sakura trailing behind.

It was mostly silent during the walk, the only exception being Sakura and Temari's soft chatter that Gaara every once in a while joined in with short one-worded comments.

Itachi didn't bother to comment at all.

Now, as they rounded the last corner and entered the final corridor the voices became louder, the soft music clearer and the air hotter due to the many people in the hall. Sakura was interested to see how such a gathering would go and what would happen since she never actually attended one thanks to Tsunade always dragging Shizune to such events.

Who would have thought that not too many months later she would be accompanying the great Hokage who was no other than the Uchiha heir to such an event, as his advisor nonetheless?

Hell, she most certainly didn't.

"Ready to face the people of power in our countries, Haruno?"

Frankly, Sakura didn't have an answer to that. Was she ready to see in what dirty and incapable hands the fate of their countries laid in? Probably not. Did she have a choice in that matter? Not at all.

So the only thing she could think of saying was.

"Readier than I'll ever be."

The instant these words have left her lips she knew that she would regret them and judging by the feeling of being watched from her right, she guessed that _he_ knew it just as well.

Oh to hell with it.

The group entered the large hall that seemed eerily similar to a ballroom and Sakura was surprised to find it _packed_ with the most different kind of people.

The bright lights that filled the location illuminated the darkness of the night, the soft tune that played in the background eased the mood and thanks to the broad and open windows the air was surprisingly cool as well.

The first thing Sakura did after entering, however, was to subtly scan the people around her.

 _Rule number one when being in a foreign location: Memorize the faces around you._

It happened every once in a while that people somehow managed to sneak into events such as these thanks to some jutsus and cause trouble, so Sakura would make sure to remember as many faces as she could.

"My sister and I will now proceed to greet some of the guests. Feel free to dine, converse and entertain yourself to your hearts content. If you need anything, you know how to find us."

Sakura turned to look at Itachi and watched him incline his head. He uttered a small "Hn." before she felt the light weight of a hand on her spine as Itachi gently guided her into the opposite direction.

She barely caught Temari's wink before Itachi guided into a more crowded are of the hall, people's curious gazes lingering on them for longer than she liked.

Despite of the way she suddenly felt more aware of Itachi's body next to her, Sakura kept her expression bright and returned every smile that was being sent her way. It seemed that they were a duo that was easily recognized, not that it surprised her, but as a ninja she preferred to be on the low.

She glanced at Itachi out of the corner of her eye, instantly noticing the way his eyes hardened and his expression was blank. He was a master at these kind of things, she quickly realized. A master at locking his thoughts and emotions far away from others, and maybe even himself.

"However flattering it is, it would be of more use if you would keep an eye on the others, Haruno-san, instead of _me_."

Sakura's eyes narrowed for the smallest of seconds before she averted her eyes from his face and instead settled them on the crowd of people around them. "Don't flatter yourself, Uchiha _-san_." She muttered, knowing that he would hear her still before she shot an elder woman a sugar-dripping smile. "Someone has to keep an eye on you as well, it's not like I have a choice."

She could distinctly hear him huff out of amusement as they wordlessly passed some other unfamiliar faces that she tried her best of catching a glimpse from. When they finally made it halfway through the crowded hall, a voice called for Itachi, causing him to slow down.

Sakura instantly followed suit, looking into the direction where the voice came from before she spotted two men that were around Ibiki's age walking towards them, both holding a glass of sake that was, judging by their stern expressions, still full.

"Yaruzen-san, Hiroto-san." Itachi's velvet voice acknowledged, his eyes firmly set on them as they drew closer. Sakura offered them a polite smile, instantly memorizing their faces and their names. The moment they stopped in front of them she didn't fail to notice how the right one's _-_ Hiroto, as she just found out his name was _-_ gaze drifted to her for the smallest of seconds, his dull grey eyes lightning up in curiosity at the sight of her before they settled back on Itachi.

"Itachi-san, it's a pleasure to see you again." Yaruzen spoke, his rough voice fitting his sharp features. He was a lean build man who seemed to have spent most of his life as a shinobi, judging by the way the skin of his palms were bruised and as rough as his voice. His short black hair was a stark contrast to his bright brown eyes and she could easily tell that in his younger years he must have been quite the heartthrob.

"The pleasure is all mine, Yaruzen-san." Itachi smoothly returned, instantly noting the way the elder male's eyes lightened up in content, clearly pleased at Itachi's current position and ever so short-bound self.

The brown haired male, Hiroto, cleared his throat and shot Itachi a bright grin, all traces of his former stern expression having vanished in a second. Hiroto was more on the chubbier side and slightly shorter than Yaruzen, his dark blue eyes sparkling in the bright light.

"You really did manage to climb up the ladder pretty fast, Itachi-san. I remember last seeing you at your academy graduation and I remember thinking – _knowing_ that an indeed very promising future was waiting for you and would you look at that, I was right. You even got yourself a sweet assistant!"

 _Rule number two: Avoid questions about oneself._

Sakura maintained her smile even though she didn't particularly like the way Yaruzen's eyes drifted to her as soon as Hiroto ended his sentence. Even though she didn't look at him, she still knew that Itachi's expression showed a hint of the amusement that he was most certainly feeling upon hearing his words.

She would show them sweet little assistant.

Their eyes stayed on her and Sakura took it as her silent queue to give them her best sugar-dripping smile that would even put Tsunade's to shame and gave a small bow as soon as she felt Itachi retreat his hand from her back to give her some space.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yaruzen-san, Hiroto-san." She greeted as she straightened once again, her glossy lips quirking for the tiniest of bits. "My name is Sakura Haruno and I am the Hokage's _advisor_."

Formally introducing herself instantly did the trick because as soon as her name slipped past her lips she could have sworn that their eyes brightened up a considerable amount, finally recognizing her.

Hiroto was the first one to react and hummed, clearly impressed. "So you are Tsunade-hime's infamous prodigy student. Believe it or not Haruno-san, we have heard a lot of great stories about you and whenever your name is mentioned it is followed by nothing but the highest praise for both your work and skill."

Sakura was slightly taken aback, her green eyes flashing in surprise for a brief moment before her smile brightened. She knew that some people recognized her as Tsunade's apprentice and that word got around, but she never realized just how many people actually knew of her and her work. It made her unbelievably proud that her efforts were finally being acknowledged and yet, the small nagging voice in the back of her head kept on warning her that as a ninja, being as known as she seemingly was also had it's downsides.

"I never realized that word spread this fast." Sakura admitted, her smile dimming the slightest of bits. "It's an honor to be Tsunade-sama's apprentice and as the Hokage's advisor, I will do my best to be of help and to fully support him."

Hiroto clearly seemed content with her answer and judging by the way she could practically feel Itachi's eyes burning through the back of her head, he was as well.

Yaruzen, however, was a different story.

"There is no doubt that you excel in the medical field and since you are a member of the infamous team seven, gaining the villagers trust and approval seems to have been no problem either. However, do you think that despite of that, you are qualified enough to be the Hokage's advisor?" He asked, a thin brow raised.

Sakura, having already expected someone to question her position beforehand, met his analyzing gaze with her own calm one. She knew that someone would sooner or later question her capability and whereas she would be lying if she said that it didn't somewhat affect her, she didn't take offense to his question either.

"Yaruzen, don't you think that you're being rude to the poor girl? I think that she has done a splendid job in advising the Hokage so far!" Hiroto remarked, clearly displeased at his fellow friends rude behavior.

"I merely asked her a question, I have no intention of disrespecting the Hokage's choice regarding his advisor." He smoothly returned, eyes falling on the silent Uchiha. "I am just concerned since she is still inexperienced in the field of politics."

Itachi kept his eyes fixed on the person in front of him, the corner of his lips curled downwards in clear displeasure. He knew that Yaruzen was not one to question him without a reason and whereas it was true that his words could come off as rude, he was the kind of person that simply spoke his mind.

If there was something that Itachi didn't like, however, was others sticking their nose into business that didn't concern him.  
"There is no reason for you to be concerned, Yaruzen-san. Haruno-san is more than qualified for the position, I can assure you." Itachi curtly, the tone of finality in his voice clearly audible.

Yaruzen, however, didn't seem too content with Itachi's answer and continued. "I am merely wondering why you decided to chose her when you could have just as well chosen someone more suitable. Whereas I don't question Haruno's combat and medical skills, I don't think that she meets the positions requirements."

 _Rule number three: Don't let them get under your skin_

Now _that_ Sakura took offense to.

She glanced at Itachi out of the corner of her eye and found him frowning as well, obviously sharing his displeasure regarding Yaruzen's more than obvious disapproval of her. Sakura swiftly glanced at Hiroto who by now seemed more than embarrassed and uneasy and forced herself not to shoot daggers at Yaruzen. She was very well aware of the fact that if this were to continue, things would get ugly real quick and thus, she forced herself to swallow the bitter lump in her throat and forced her lips into a smile.

In the end, she chose the safest answer."I am aware that there are many others who would be more qualified for this position and understand your concerns, but I am confident that I hold more than enough political knowledge to properly advise the Hokage."

Yaruzen's eyes locked with hers as soon as she finished. She knew that her words changed very little and that he was hard to convince, but if she were to convince every person in this room that opposed to her being the Hokage's advisor she would never get to leave this place.

In the end Yaruzen yielded, even though reluctantly. "Very well then, Haruno-san. I only have Konoha's best interest at heart, so I hope that you won't disappoint us."

"If you truly have Konoha's best interest at heart, you should know better than to question my choice and cease this sort of behavior." Itachi remarked as he placed his hand on Sakura's back, obviously ready to end this conversation. "Now if you would please excuse us, I am afraid that we have yet to greet the other guests."

"Of course Hokage-sama!" Hiroto hastily agreed, more than eager to finally put an end to the conversation as well. "I wish you all the best and hope that the both of you enjoy the rest of this evening. It was a great pleasure to meet you as well, Haruno-san."

Sakura offered him a weak smile in return before she gave them a small bow. "The pleasure was all mine Hiroto-san," Her emerald eyes then slid over to his partner. "Yaruzen-san."

The latter merely inclined his head before Itachi gently applied pressure to her back, silently urging her forwards and away from the duo. Sakura maintained her smile even though she wanted to do nothing more than to punch the nearest wall with all her might.

 _Talk about enjoying the gathering, that nerve of the guy!_

"Damn politicians." She muttered under her breath, at this point not even caring whether Itachi hear her or not.

The Uchiha, of course, heard her comment just fine. He knew that his companion preferred to stand up for herself and liked to speak her mind, but she would have to get used to situations like this. "If that's all that it takes to ruin your mood Haruno, it may be better if you were to return to your chambers."

Sakura lifted a pink brow and turned her head to look at him, her smile brightened whereas her eyes held deadly intent. "I will have you know that it takes way more than that to ruin my mood, Uchiha. You won't be able to get rid of me that easily."

They have reached the buffet by now and Itachi retreated his hand from Sakura's back to hand her a glass of sake which she wordlessly accepted. She turned to scan the hall and so far, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. People were talking, laughing, drinking and some even dancing to the soft melody that played in the background.

Her eyes softened as she placed her lips onto the rim of her glass and took a small sip. "Why do people always have to ruin such events?"

The answer was directed at her companion but when moments of silence passed and she turned her head to look at where he stood next to her mere moments ago, she found him gone.

She rolled her eyes and took another sip, clearly annoyed that he left her on her own already. Then again, she shouldn't have expected any less from the Uchiha heir.

She spend the next minutes doing nothing but standing there, watching others as they enjoyed themselves and keeping an eye on anything that may seem out of the ordinary.

Unfortunately for her, everything seemed to go as planned.

How boring.

Eventually deciding that she should enjoy herself as well instead of just standing there, she put her now empty glass back onto the table and took off to look for the Sand Siblings. Before she could take as much as two steps forward she felt herself almost getting knocked over by two small children that collided with her legs with full force.

Her arms shot out to steady the two that barely even reached her waist before they could fall on the ground. "Woah, careful you two." She said, offering them a gentle smile as she suddenly found two pair of wide eyes staring up at her.

The boy seemed to be older than the small girl that had followed him on shaky legs, his dark brown eyes wide as a pink hue covered his cheeks. Sakura tried her best not to squeal at his obvious and rather cute embarrassed face.

The small girl that was currently trying her best not to fall onto her tiny little backside offered her a toothless grin, the bright blonde curls that reached her lower back a beautiful contrast to her dark brown, almost black innocent orbs.

"S-Sorry!" The boy squeaked as he released Sakura's kimono as if it was on fire, brows furrowing as he avoided her gaze. Sakura merely chuckled as she knelt down in front of the two and wrapped an arm around the small girl so that she wouldn't fall over.

"It's alright, but you are lucky that it was just me that you bumped into." She spoke, eyes glistening with amusement. "I am sure that others would have been way more rude if you would have run into them so try to be more careful from now on you two, 'kay?"

The small girl pouted, having clearly understood her but she seemingly was unable to speak yet. The older boy who seemed to be around five years old however turned around to glare at Sakura.

"It wasn't our fault!" He started, clearly feeling wronged by Sakura. "Mei-chan and I were playing hide and seek when we found two sleeping guards in a room next door. We didn't want to wake them 'cuz that's rude and just left but then these big men found us and suddenly played tag with us!"

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat upon hearing the boy's words and tightened her hold on the little girl that suddenly started to giggle.

"You played tag?" She asked, emerald eyes darkening as the boy in return nodded.

"Yeah!" He grinned smugly. "But we were faster and they couldn't catch us 'cuz Mei and I are a waaaaay better team!"

Sakura couldn't help but mirror his smug smile as she tapped his nose and gave him a wink. "Well done. Why don't we look for them so that I can play along? I would _love_ to play tag with them!"

The boy eagerly nodded and Sakura ruffled his hair before she stood up once more and picked Mei up so that she could carry her.

Mei squealed in delight and threw her arms around Sakura's neck whilst the kunoichi grabbed the little boy's hand, ready to find whoever tried to harm the children. There was no way that she would let them run off on their own now that she knew for sure that someone was indeed trying to cause trouble.

"Well, may I know your name?" Sakura asked the little boy as they begun to walk through the crowd of people.

The little boy in return nodded again as he squeezed himself through two conversing males. "My name is Takumi." He revealed as he shot her a grin over his small shoulder that instantly melted her heart.

Adorable.

"That's a nice name!" She suddenly felt a tug on her hair and turned to look at Mei who pouted, clearly wanting Sakura to pay attention to her as well. Sakura offered the small girl a bright grin. "Of course you also have a nice name! My name is Sakura, by the way."

"That's a pretty cool name!" Takumi piped up from below as he continued to eagerly look for his former teammates.

Sakura merely tightened her hold on Mei and allowed herself to be dragged through the crowd by an overly enthusiastic little boy, occasionally apologizing to strangers that she bumped into.

After five more minutes Takumi suddenly stopped and tugged at her hand, his eyes visibly brightening as he pointed into the crowd.

"There! There! I found them!" He cheered, instantly gaining Sakura's attention. Sakura's eyes followed the length of his arm before she found the person that Takumi was pointing at.

It was a chubby man, probably in his late forties who was talking to a woman who seemingly wanted to be anywhere but close to him.

He didn't seem to have noticed them yet and thus, Sakura gently tugged at Takumi's hand and pulled him into a different direction.

"Well done Takumi! Now, where did you say the others were?" She asked, memorizing the chubby one's face and location so that she could keep an eye on him.

"Another one is over there, the one with the cool red hair next to the entrance!" He exclaimed, but as soon as Sakura lifted her gaze to look at him, her eyes locked with his blue ones. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched him narrow his eyes.

Damn.

She casually averted her eyes from his and smiled at Takumi before she turned around and walked into the opposite direction, making sure to fasten her pace.

"And the third one?" She inquired, eyes scanning the crowd in hope of finding a familiar face.

Mei buried her face into Sakura's shoulder as Takumi gently tugged at her hand and pointed to a tall white haired man that was standing mere steps in front of them, his dark eyes settled on the trio.

Sakura abruptly halted and kept the smile on her face as she hummed. "Ah." Was all she said before she gave the man a curt nod and moved to walk past him.

He seemingly guessed what was going on however and gently grabbed Sakura's upper arm, causing her to stop and look at him with questioning eyes.

"Looking for me?" He asked, eyebrow raised and voice rough despite of him not looking much older than Sakura herself. Sakura's body stiffened as she tightened her hold on the children as she moved her body to properly face him.

"I actually am." She admitted as she offered him a dazzling smile. "I heard that you played with my little nephew and niece while I was occupied and couldn't do so myself and wanted to thank you for keeping an eye on them." She swiftly lied, knowing that she couldn't start anything while the children were with her.

"Is that so?" He mumbled as he first looked at Mei and then gazed down at Takumi, unsure whether he should believe her. "If that's the case then I am glad that I was of help."

Takumi decided that it was his turn to speak up. "Yeah! Sakura-chan even said that she wanted to play along!" He told him before he looked back at Sakura, who didn't know whether she should be glad that he didn't comment on the nephew thing or should inwardly curse herself for offering to play with them.  
The silver haired male now curiously eyed Sakura, a glint entering his dark eyes that she didn't quite like. "Is that so?" He drawled as he stepped closer, lips curling upwards into an amused smirk. "I would love to play with you _Sakura-chan_."

Yeah, definitely a bad idea.

"I am afraid that I have no time to spare." She said as she took a step back and forced an apologetic smile on her lips. "It is already pretty late as it is and the two of them have to get to bed soon, you see."

Just as the last word left her lips did her eyes lock with a pair of familiar and rather welcomed pair of onyx ones. Sakura's smile considerably brightened all of sudden as she carefully shifted her weight onto the right and turned so that the silver haired male couldn't see her face as she looked at Takumi. "Or do you want to go play with your uncle over there while I'll go and _play_ with our dear friend over here?"

Takumi instantly caught his supposed uncle's eye and gave Sakura a small nod although his brown eyes were filled with confusion. When she shot the little boy a wink and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze though, he got the hint and instantly brightened.

"Sure thing Sakura-chan!" He saluted as she gently put Mei back on the ground. Takumi instantly grabbed his little sisters hand and with one last glance at Sakura took off without turning back.

Sakura straightened and turned so that she was blocking the children from his sight. It would do her no good if he were to find out just who she had sent the children off to, but now that she knew that they were safe, it was time to take care of the issue at hand.

She lifted her eyes to meet his clearly delighted own and when he still didn't let go of her, she knew how this night would end.

Mister Mysterious then leaned over so that his breath brushed the shell of her ear that earned him a disgusted shiver from Sakura who instantly tensed.

"Shall we?"

 _Oh boy if only you knew._

Sakura didn't even have time to answer as she suddenly found herself getting subtly dragged through the crowd and right towards the exit. She tried to keep up with his pace without stumbling over her kimono in the process but unfortunately this was harder than she expected.

As soon as they exited the hall, however, Sakura noticed that a certain someone was following them.

She frowned but decided against asking. He obviously had the wrong idea about what exactly she meant when she agreed to play his little game with him, that much she knew, but the more isolated they were, the lesser attention they would get.

She would have already taken care of them herself but she couldn't have done so without gaining any attention from other guests and it would cause quite a scene if she were to take care of them her way.

Thus, she would have to trust _him_ to take care of the rest.

He dragged her up one of the countless staircases and by now, they have already entered a more isolated part of the building.

The only sound that filled the empty corridors was the sound of their hurried footsteps and by now, Sakura had memorized her surroundings well enough to know where exactly she was and how exactly she could get back to the hall as soon as she was done with them.

When they turned a corner for what felt like the hundredth time, she was relieved when he finally stopped in front of a closed door that he effortless kicked open.

Sakura didn't even bother to hide her disgust as she was dragged into the room before he finally released her upper arm and roughly pushed her inside, closing the door right after.

Now it was only the two of them.

 _Just peachy._

The two of them were facing each other in the dark and whereas he was smirking, Sakura's face was blank. Her senses were on high alert, hoping to catch a flicker of his chakra and the second he took a step towards her, she automatically moved backwards.

"Scared?" He taunted, eyes shining with lust as his eyes roamed her body.

She closed her eyes for the split of a second and as she heard a soft thud coming from outside, she felt how the weight was instantly lifted from her heart.

"Nope."

He didn't even see it coming.

Sakura channeled her chakra into her fist before she swung it right at his face with all her might, the rewarding sound of his nose breaking being music to her ears.

He flew right through the door and collided against the wall of the corridor before his now unconscious body slumped onto the ground right next to his companion who also seemed to be out cold.

"What's with you attracting danger wherever you go?"

Sakura shot Temari a grateful smile as she dusted off her hands and straightened her kimono. "I don't know either. Are the boys taking care of the rest?"

Temari merely rolled her eyes in return as she pushed herself off of the wall. "Of course they are. After seeing you wandering around with your two little friends, Uchiha instantly got the hint and took care of the troublemakers together with Gaara. Fortunately no one else noticed what was going on."

Sakura shot her friend a relieved smile. "Great. Though I admittedly hoped for more action, but I guess you can't have everything."

Temari shot Sakura a grin as the two of them begun to make their way back. "I honestly didn't expect them to back down this easily either but I guess that it's a good thing considering that we are currently housing a large amount of international politicians."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "True. They plan on staying overnight, right?" She asked, remembering that Kankuro told her something along these lines when they last saw each other.

"Unfortunately. Guess we'll have to survive breakfast with a group of hungover politicians tomorrow before we're finally free." Temari muttered as they rounded a corner and Sakura spotted the familiar staircase.

The pinkette narrowed her eyes as she suddenly remembered something. "Where are Takumi and Mei?"

"Back with their mother." Temari replied with a wave of her hand. "That woman didn't even notice that they disappeared in the first place."

As they made their way down the staircase Sakura merely shook her head, pitying the two children. She was glad that she saw Itachi in time so that she was able to get Mei and Takumi away from trouble and didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if Takumi and Mei didn't run into her. When would their mother have noticed their absence? What would have happened until she did?

"Stop breaking your head over something that didn't even happen Sakura." Temari scolded as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Just be happy that everything turned out alright."

Sakura knew that Temari was right but she still couldn't help but sigh. "I know, I know, you're right." She said, earning a smile from her friend in return.

"Of course I am, now why don't we enjoy ourselves for the rest of the evening while we let the boys take care of the bad guys? In the end, someone has to excuse their absence anyways and guess who this lucky someone is?" Temari asked with feigned enthusiasm as she linked her arm through Sakura's own.

Sakura groaned as she allowed herself to get dragged back inside by the blonde. "Remind me to quit after today."

"Tch, you wish."

* * *

"Try not to get killed in your sleep. Wouldn't get it past you to achieve that after everything that happened."

Sakura rolled her eyes at Temari's comment and shot her a halfhearted glare. "Very funny Temari, Goodnight."

And with that, she shut the door right in front of Temari's face. A heavy sigh escaped the pinkette's lips as she leaned her forehead against the cool door. It was well past midnight and most of the guests either left or moved to their sleeping chambers. Temari and Sakura personally had to see every single guest off in both the Kazekage and Hokage's name since the two of them have been absent for the rest of the night.

It was exhausting.

Sakura closed her eyes and tried to fight the headache that made itself apparent an hour ago. She really needed some sleep and preferably, now.

She pushed herself off of the door, changed into some more comfortable clothes and dropped her exhausted body onto the bed.

As she silently stared at the ceiling she wondered what Itachi and Gaara had done to the rest of the attackers troupe that kept them from returning to the gathering if only for some minutes.

She knew that she didn't need to worry about them since they were very well capable of taking care of some troublemakers, but that didn't stop her from wondering nonetheless.

And all the while she wondered, she didn't even notice when she drifted into a deep, dreamless slumber.

* * *

Sakura woke up feeling even worse than she did the night before. Her eyelids felt heavier than they usually did and as she finally managed to force her eyes open her sight was blurred.

She once more shut her eyes close and groaned at the sudden pain that shot through her head. It was an ever stronger headache than the one she had the night before and whereas she would usually play it cool, she knew that this time something was off.

Her sleeping gown was drenched in cold sweet, sticking to her body like glue and even though she was feeling hot all over she found herself shivering.

"What the-" The croaked whisper that left her dry lips was cut off by her own pained whimper as she once more opened her eyes and forced them to stay open. Her pulse was loudly echoing in her own ears, leaving her mute to her surroundings.

Sakura rolled over onto her side and took deep, shallow breaths, dilated pupils scanning the empty room in hope of finding the answer written somewhere on the walls.

She inwardly forced herself to remain as calm as she could, even though she found it to be harder than she expected it to, and inwardly went through everything that could be the cause of her current situation.

She felt drowsy and it was beyond hard to keep herself from passing out again but as soon as she realized just what exactly was going on, she knew that it was too late.

Poison.

She had to find someone, _quickly_.

Sakura gritted her teeth and shut her eyes close as she mentally prepared herself for what would probably become the worst minutes of her life.

Forcing herself onto her forearms, Sakura clenched her teeth as she moved her legs over the edge of her bed and pushed herself off of it with all the strength that she was able to gather.

The moment she was standing on her feet she already felt like collapsing. She felt dizzy, cold yet hot and her entire throat was burning due to its dryness.

Sakura took sluggish steps towards where she remembered the door to be at and grabbed its handle with shaking hands before she pulled it open.

Another wave of dizziness overcame her, forcing her to lean against the wall of the hall in support. She clutched her head, praying that someone would take her pain away as she forced herself to move on. Sakura didn't even know where she was going but she couldn't say that she cared either as long as she would stumble across someone.

She went on and on for what felt like years without encountering a single soul. She was at her strengths end and just about to give up as the sound of low voices suddenly reached her deafened ears.

She opened her emerald eyes to see that she was walking towards an opened door that was seemingly filled with people. How many? She couldn't tell.

Her vision was worsening with each second that passed and her breathing grew quicker. She forced herself to walk towards where the noise came from, step for step trying not to trip over her own feed at a murderously slow pace.

It was when she finally reached the door and leaned against it's frame that she noticed that there were more people than she anticipated.

Not that it mattered.

She heard her name being called. First in delight, some offering her to join them whereas others wished her a good morning.

She was barely able to make it out, however, because in the next moment she suddenly felt all the strength that she's had left leave her body at once.

All Sakura knew was that she was falling. All around her people suddenly shouted her name, screamed out of alarm or called for help upon seeing her collapse. The voice in her head was screaming at her to stay awake, to hold onto something to prevent herself from hitting the ground, but she found herself unable to do so.

Her eyes fluttered close and darkness took over as she prepared herself for the pain that would expect her but much to her surprise, it never came.

Instead, she found herself hitting something solid yet soft. She was too exhausted to open her eyes and it wasn't until the moment that the scent of wood and ginger clouded her senses that she drowsily realized who it was that was holding her.

" _Itachi."_ She breathed, now knowing that she wasn't alone and that it would be alright to give into the tempting darkness that lulled her into a deep slumber.

* * *

A/N: I know that it's been ages and I deeply apologize for my rather long absence. Whereas I deeply regret that I didn't tell you about my hiatus beforehand, I have to admit that it was rather spontaneous. I had an enormous writers block that I struggled to overcome and there were moments when I asked myself if I should keep on writing at all but in the end, I decided to get my life back in order, to pull myself back together and to focus on what I enjoyed the most before my entire life was turned upsite down-writing!

Honestly guys, in the end you and your constant support, be it your reviews, your follows or you favoring this story, were one of the main reasons as to why I was able to return with a light heart. I truly thank all of you for your support. Please know that everything that you do keeps me going, so please keep on supporting this story because I don't plan on abandoning it, no matter what happens.

I hope that you liked this slightly longer chapter and would be delighted if you would tell me what your favorite part of this chapter was, what you think of the plot and the characters so far as well as what you think will happen next!

I love you guys and can't thank you enough for reading, reviewing, etc.

Thank you and see you very soon!

Love, Sara


	7. I am not ready to die yet

CHAPTER 7- "I am not ready to die yet."

Itachi knew that something was wrong the moment he stepped into the rather lively dining hall and found that everyone was present - well, everyone with the exception of his pink haired advisor.

As soon as the others caught sight of him the mood of the dining hall palpably changed, everyone having mixed reactions about his presence. Whereas some continued to talk as animatedly as before and didn't seem to mind his arrival, others stiffened and forced a smile on their lips as they greeted him with feigned enthusiasm whilst the remaining ones unconsciously put their guard up and glanced at the Uchiha heir with a mixture of fear and caution.

Itachi, however, was used to it.

It's been this way ever since he became a genin, and it only got worse when he became the captain of an ANBU unit at the age of thirteen. People either avoided him at all costs or treated him like an adult ever since so when he was named the next Hokage, nothing really changed in the way people behaved around him or talked to him.

"Hokage-sama, please have a seat."

Itachi gave Gaara a curt nod as he made his way towards the empty seat next to the Kazekage, noting that both Kankuro and Temari were already seated on Gaara's right as well.

"Good morning Hokage-sama." Temari greeted him with a polite smile as Itachi sat down on the chair opposite of him. The Uchiha heir offered her a nod as well, but since she was very well aware of the fact that the Hokage was a man of very little words, she didn't mind at all.

Itachi glanced at the long table that was filled with dishes and fruits of every kind but somehow, he didn't feel too hungry.

The sun was blazing at this early hour already and whereas he gladly accepted the cup of water that a female politician to his right offered him, he didn't have much of an appetite.

The Kazekage's brother, however, seemed beyond starved judging by the way he practically shoveled everything that was in his arms reach into his mouth.

Itachi couldn't fight the disgust that momentarily flickered in his onyx eyes as he put the now empty cup on the table in front of him.

Yes, totally not hungry.

"I hope that the two of you were able to get some sleep last night, seeing as you returned pretty late." Temari commented as she popped a grape into her mouth, teal eyes moving from her brother to the Hokage.

"We had to take care of something that was brought to our attention during the gathering, sister." Gaara replied, holding his sisters firm gaze with his own. "Fortunately, you and Sakura-san were able to take proper care of the guests in our absence."

Temari merely snorted in return as she twirled the knife between her fingers. "Yeah, lucky us." She grumbled as she returned her attention to the food in front of her, knowing that she wouldn't get the answers that she wanted anytime soon.

At the mentioning of the pinkette's name, Itachi once more subtly scanned the crowd in hope of catching her Emerald eyes. Sakura never was one to be late and usually was the first one to wake after him as well and the mere fact that she didn't join them yet was enough to gain his attention.

Just then as he was about to ask the Kazekage's sister if she had encountered his advisor yet did he feel a familiar and soft brush of chakra against his own.

It was very faint and if he hadn't paid close attention to his surroundings he wouldn't have picked it up but the closer she got to the dining hall, the more he noticed that something about her signature was off.

When they traveled together, Sakura always was in perfect control of her chakra, regardless of how much she had left. He always felt how it was like an extended part of herself that she had total control over even in the worst situations.

This time, however, it was beyond faint and wavered like a dimming flame that tried its best to survive the blowing wind.

Itachi's eyes bled red as he turned his head to expectantly look at the door, eyes narrowed and body tense in alarm.

Something was wrong with her chakra, but he had the sneaking suspicion that she wasn't even aware of it herself.

He felt her come closer and just as she entered his vision, his red eyes sharply narrowed within the split of a second and if possible, grew even darker.

Standing there in the doorway and barely holding herself on her feet was Sakura, clad in her white nightgown with her long rosy locks cascading down her back in soft waves. His sharp eyes made out every droplet of sweat that graced her skin, the way her chest heaved in an unsteady rhythm as well as the way her entire body was shivering.

Her dull emerald eyes were partly hidden beneath her half-lidded eyes and as he caught her drowsy gaze with his own fierce one, it was as if she was looking right through him, not at him.

What angered him the most, however, was that his fellow politicians greeted her as if nothing was off and even offered her a seat that she, in this state, clearly couldn't accept.

Her dry lips parted and it looked like she was about to say something but before she could even do as much as utter a word, Itachi saw her eyes roll back and it was then that he moved.

Ignoring the worried gasps and cries of surprise and concern, Itachi was at Sakura's side within the blink of an eye and caught her shaking body in his arms with ease.

Her head rolled against his chest as he wrapped one arm around her waist and slid the other under the back of her knees so that he had a firm grip on her.

His eyes instantly scanned her entire body as he tried to make out any possible injuries as the sound of hurried footsteps reached his ears.

"Sakura!" Came Temari's concerned call as she and Kankuro moved to stand in front of her friends unconscious body in the arms of the Uchiha, both of their eyes wide and filled with worry. "What the hell happened?"

Itachi pursed his lips into a thin line as he returned his gaze on Sakura's pale face, unable to answer Temari's question as well.

"I'll take her to her chambers and expect Suna's best medics to meet me there in an instant." Itachi curtly ordered and Kankuro nodded before he swiftly retreated to get the medics as Itachi told them to.

Temari remained at Sakura's side, an angered frown gracing her face as she took in the state of her fellow friend. "She seemed alright when I left her last night, so whatever caused this must have happened within the past six hours." She informed him as they made their way out of the room and into the hot corridors of Suna.

Itachi furrowed his brows and was about to question the blonde about yesterday's events after he and Gaara left when a whisper suddenly reached his keen hearing.

"Itachi."

His eyes instantly snapped to the face of the still unconscious woman in his arms, mildly surprised and inwardly wondering how she could recognize his mere presence whilst being unconscious still. Itachi noticed the way her body relaxed the slightest of bits in his arms and tightened his hold on her as he effortlessly jumped up the flight of stairs, mind reeling with all kind of theories and possible suspects.

He would find whoever was responsible for Sakura's current state. She was his responsibility- any attack on her equals an attack on the Hokage and whoever was foolish enough to make that mistake and not consider the Hokage's punishment upon finding the culprit would soon come to find out that Itachi Uchiha was one of the most feared individuals for a reason.

As they reached her room Itachi pushed the door open before he went inside and gently laid her onto the bed, Temari following him like a shadow.

The blonde moved to sit down on the bed next to Sakura and gently laid a hand onto her forehead in order to check her temperature, just to withdraw it with a hiss as soon as her palm touched it. "Damn it, she is burning up!" She exclaimed as she held her palm and shot Itachi, who was standing next to the bed, a concerned look.

Itachi silently observed Sakura's shivering body before he shifted his gaze to the window, eyes hard. Someone was now officially trying to get to him and whereas it was possible that one of the attackers underlings was still present, he knew that the real culprit was most likely long gone already.

The mere fact that someone managed to get to Sakura, one of the best Ninja's of Konoha that was most likely going to surpass Tsunade one day, was unsettling enough as it was.

His eyes once more drifted to the now pale and shaking form of the woman that he once believed to be immune to anything thanks to both her knowledge and her combat skills.

He would find the one who put her into this state, as it was his responsibility as both the Hokage and her superior.

"Temari-san, please ensure that no one other than the medics and your brothers enter this room. I will find the one responsible for this." He ordered, his deep voice sharp and clear.

Temari pursed her lips and took Sakura's hand in her own, teal eyes fixed on the pinkette's in sweat covered face.

"It would be wiser to wait for the medics to arrive and to hear their diagnose before you run off to catch the bad guys. This way it might be easier." Temari commented as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes.

Itachi, however, remained expressionless. "I will be back before the sun sets." He merely returned and with one last glance at Sakura, left the room within the blink of an eye.

Temari sighed as she held Sakura's hand tighter. "Stupid girl." She mumbled as she heard the medics and her ever so noisy brother approach. "I told you not to get yourself killed overnight, didn't I?"

A knock echoed through the otherwise silent room and Temari called them in as she glanced over her shoulder to see Kankuro enter the room, followed by an elderly man and a woman who seemed to be in her mid- thirties.

"I called them like Hokage-sama told me to." Kankuro informed her, expression stern as his eyes fell on Sakura.

The medics instantly caught sight of the pink haired woman as well and rushed to her side, instantly falling into the medic mode that suddenly reminded Temari of the times when Sakura did that.

"She seemed fine last night." Temari started, eyes locked with the female medics that she recognized as indeed one of the best medics of Suna. How Kankuro managed to get her this fast, she didn't know, nor did she care if she were to be honest.

"Did she eat anything during the gathering?" The elderly male inquired as he put a glowing hand on Sakura's stomach, who in return unconsciously flinched. Temari shook her head with narrowed eyes.

"No, not that I recall. She seemed fine and didn't act strange either, until we found her this morning drenched in sweat and burning up yet shaking as if she was freezing." Temari returned, wondering what he was getting at.

He moved his glowing hand over the length of Sakura's body once more before he retreated it and motioned towards the needles in the woman's first aid kid.

The woman instantly complied and prepared the syringe before she took hold of Sakura's arm and carefully injected the needle into her flesh.

"I was unable to find any injury and Haruno-san does not seem to be under any type of genjutsu either, what causes me to strongly believe that she has been poisoned." He revealed with a grim expression and both the Sand siblings instantly tensed.

"Poison?" Temari whispered and within the next second her eye were burning with fury. "What kind of poison?"

This time it was the woman who spoke up. "Judging by the symptoms it seems to be one of the stronger and lesser known poisons here in Sunagakure. It's not common for someone who has been poisoned by the most common ones to show all of these symptoms at once but in Haruno-san's case, it seems that we are dealing with someone that knew exactly what kind of mixture to use and how much of it."

Kankuro growled as he clenched his fists. "So how the hell do we get it out of her?" He asked, not liking where this was going.

The man heaved a heavy sigh as he gently patted Sakura's hand, his old and wise gray eyes filled with pity. "It seems to be a rather strong poison that was specifically made to slowly destroy her body step by step from the inside. Since it seems to be a mixture of many different ones it is harder to extract it than others, if not even impossible."

Silence followed his words as both Kankuro and Temari tried to process his words.

"So you are telling us that it's a rare kind of poison that is practically impossible to extract and that we should simply let her die?" Temari hissed, her anger rolling off of her in waves. "There has to be something that we can do in order to save her!"

"Yeah!" Kankuro agreed. "What about an antidote?"

The medics both glanced at one another, sharing a silent message before the woman once more decided to explain.

"It would take too long to analyze her blood sample and to form an antidote based on the many poisons that we would have found in her blood by then. It would probably take weeks and by then, she would be long gone. The only way is to extract the poison from her body whilst healing her at the same time and this is a task that no ordinary medic is capable of doing. Extracting the poison itself would take a huge amount of skill, power and endurance on the medics side and healing her at the same time only complicates things." She kindly explained, rueful eyes locked on the concerned and angered faces of the Kazekage's siblings.

"Not to forget that most patients that are in such a state are too weak to survive such a process." The elderly medic added.

Temari heaved a sigh as she clenched Sakura's hand tightly into her own and gritted her teeth. The only medic she knew of that would be able to save Sakura was Tsunade but even she would probably have troubles saving Sakura even if she were to return to Konoho in time.

"How long does she have?" Temari asked, not daring to look up and meet the pity filled eyes of the medic.

A deafening silence followed her words and for a moment, Temari regretted to have voiced her question aloud in the first place. She was suddenly unsure if she even wanted to hear the answer and yet, she knew that they needed to know how high Sakura's chances of survival were.

"Three days at most, if not even less."The woman sighed. "By then, her vitals will have suffered too much damage to ever fully recover, regardless of whether the poison will be successfully extracted afterwards or not."

Temari lowered her head and bit the inside of her cheek, having already guessed their answer to be like this. Tsunade would never make it to Suna within three days since she would need to be informed about Sakura's condition beforehand. Besides, she couldn't just leave Konoha unprepared and with no one to fill in her place at the hospital, even though she would do so within a heartbeat if Sakura's life was at stake.

What unfortunately was the case.

Her thoughts then returned to the Uchiha who suddenly disappeared and she knew that he would not like to hear that his advisor was dying and that there was nothing that even he could do to save her.

She just hoped that Itachi would at least find whoever was responsible for hurting Sakura and make him pay.

* * *

Itachi was walking through the dark corridors that were hidden beneath the Hidden Village of Sunagakure, every step that he took echoing loudly through the empty hallways. His entire posture screamed authority and whereas he, as a ninja, usually concealed himself, he purposefully made his intent and mere presence known to every prisoner that resided in the cells of Suna's hidden prison.

His Sharingan was activated, blood red eyes piercing through the darkness as he took long and purpose filled strides towards one particular cell.

As soon as he was standing in front of it he stopped, eyes falling onto the prisoners within. One of them was laying on his back, unconscious whereas the other two were each sitting in one of the corners in the back, covered in bruises and dry blood.

Just as he left them last night.

"Open the cell."

As soon as the words have left Itachi's lips a guard stumbled forwards and fiddled with the keys before he complied and managed to unlocked the cell.

Itachi dismissed him with a brief yet pointed glance before he opened the rusty metallic doors, the squeaking sound music to his ears as he took a step inside.

He then shut the door behind him close and looked down on the still unconscious silver haired male, expression blank. He was the one who seemingly had most to say during his interrogation last night and thus, still had to suffer under the consequences. The other two seemed to be in a surprisingly good shape considering yesterday nights events and thus, Itachi didn't even bother to sugar coat anything and to instead get straight to the point.

"You poisoned her."

To say these words out loud made him uncomfortable, if he were to be honest, and angered him only further. Saying it out loud made it real, and even though it was just an assumption, he knew that it was the only explanation that made sense considering the state that he found her in. Sakura got poisoned, and maybe wouldn't even live to see another day if he didn't find a way to get her out of this mess within the next hours.

His red eyes picked up the faintest of movements from the one on the right and his eyes instantly narrowed. This mere reaction was all that he needed in order to know that they what he was talking about.

"We didn't poison anyone." Came a slurred voice from his left, followed by the sound of him spitting in front of him. "All we did was knock these guards out, as we told you yesterday already."

Itachi clenched his fists ever so slightly and pursed his lips into a thin line, the displeasure that he was feeling clearly showing on his face.

"It wasn't the Kazekage that you were after." Itachi mumbled as he took a step closer to the two, eyes shifting between both of their swollen and bruised faces. He could see the sweat that was dripping down their temples and the way their flinched ever so slightly whenever his gaze fell on them and he knew that he would go well past the playing nice game if he wanted information.

Yesterday, he and Gaara were only able to get information by using the most painful and mentally exhausting ways they knew of due to their stubbornness but after they managed to break them, things suddenly went a lot of better.

Now that they did most of the work yesterday, Itachi knew that it would not take him long to get the information that he wanted.

"Who else would we have been after?" The left one once more inquired, his voice a low grumble whereas the right one once more remained silent.

Itachi's eyes narrowed sharply before he moved faster than their eyes could see and held the right one by his throat up against the wall, tomoe spinning steadily in his eyes as a silent warning.

The man whimpered and shut his eyes close, fearing of what would happen to him if he would look into them once more as he did the night before.

"You separated us on purpose." Itachi lowly spoke as he tightened his grip on the throat of the man that ever so desperately gripped Itachi's wrist in hope of getting to loosen his grip, in vain.

"I don't know what you are talking about." He managed to choke out, tears rolling down his cheeks as he kicked his legs wildly back and forth.

Itachi had none of it. "You caused a scene knowing that we would interrogate you for the night. You had someone poison her when she was asleep and not by my side."

This time the man remained silent, his eyes nervously darting to the guy in the left who was glaring at the two of them in return.

"Nonesense!" He called in protest. "We have nothing to do with it!"

Itachi knew that he was right the moment the one he was holding looked at him with pleading, teary eyes. He didn't need to verbally confirm it though, for his eyes told him enough.

"Tell me their name." Itachi ordered as he once more tightened his grip and this time to an extend that could easily break his neck.

"Don't you dare open this damn mouth of yours, we're dead either way!" Came the yell from Itachi's left but he paid him no mind. The person of interest was currently in his grip, struggling to breathe and obviously contemplating on whether to answer Itachi or to risk getting killed by said Uchiha.

In the end, he chose the easier way.

"The one who poisoned this girl calls himself Kasaki, but he is just like the three of us." He choked out, a breathless wail following after. "All I know is that the one behind all of this orders others to do the work so that he doesn't get his own hands dirty!"

"Shut up you moron!"

Ah, there it was. So they knew something after all, even though he was very stingy with the details- but that didn't matter. Now that he was certain that the trio did know something after all, even though they insisted that they didn't know any names or other important pieces of information that would be of use for him, Itachi would cut the chase and get the information his way.

He released his grip on the man and allowed his Sharingan to take care of the rest.

* * *

The sun was just about to set as Itachi entered Sakuras room. Temari was standing in front of the window while Gaara was seated next to Sakura and exchanged hushed whispers with Kankuro. As soon as they noticed his presence however, they immediately straightened.

"Hokage-sama." Temari was the first one to greet him, her expression dull. "We have a problem."

Itachi's eyes instantly fell on Sakura, who still didn't seem to have regained conscious during his absence and he frowned, not liking what Temari was getting at.

"There is no antidote for the poison that was used on Sakura." Gaara explained, getting straight to point as his dull eyes watched Itachi with an intensity that he has only rarely seen.

"Explain."

This time it was Kankuro who spoke up. "They said that someone has to extract the poison from Sakura whilst healing her at the same time but since it is a poison that consists of many others, it is a nearly impossible task for any common medic." He swiftly explained, expression grim as he averted his eyes from Itachi in shame.

"We have to get her to Tsunade-hime then." Itachi concluded, knowing that if someone was able to save her, it would be the slug princess and Godaime Hokage. "She's the only one who would be strong and skilled enough to save her."

"I also thought of that, but it would take too long until she would arrive. We would have to send a messenger hawk to inform her and then she would have to make it in time. She wouldn't be able to make it within the deadline of three days that Sakura was given by the medics." Temari grimly reminded them.

Itachi's eyes fell on Sakura once more as he remained silent for the next moments, pondering on what would be best to do in this situation. There were many times and many different situations where Itachi was forced to make decisions where others life depended on it. One wrong movement, one wrong order and one wrong word could get someone killed, just like hesitation.

That's why he didn't hesitate with his next words.

"I'll take her back to Konoha."

He knew that it would be the only way to save her and even though he would have to force his body to its limit, he couldn't just let her die here. It was risky and for some even suicide, but it was their only chance at saving her.

"What?" Kankuro sputtered, clearly not having expected his words. "But you can't run for two days straight, especially not with all the sandstorms!"

Itachi's expression hardened as he walked past Kankuro and gently lifted Sakura from her bed, shifting her so that she was comfortably laying in his arms before he turned to face the Kazekage's brother,

"I won't let one of my people die here and if it means that I will have to run for two days straight, then so be it."

Gaara stood up from where he was seated and looked at Itachi, considering his words silently before he eventually gave in.

"We will send Tsunade a letter so that she will know of your return and the circumstances beforehand." Gaara informed him as he crossed his eyes above his chest. "Though I agree with Kankuro, the sandstorms may pose a problem if you wait any longer."

"Are you even capable of running from Suna to Konoha in this state and without any rest?" Temari objected, seemingly not too fond of their plan.

Her friends life was at stake and whereas she knew that Itachi would keep her safe, she didn't like that they rushed things all of sudden.

"I've been through worse." Itachi mumbled before he gave them a low bow and tightened his hold on Sakura. "I hereby thank you for your hospitality, Kazekage-sama. I will make sure to inform you of Sakura's condition and to tell you as soon as we get any information regarding the one behind these attacks."

Gaara returned the bow and Temari and Kankuro instantly followed suit, knowing that whether Sakura survived or not now solely depended on Itachi.

"Please be careful and inform us as soon as you arrive in Konoha."

Itachi nodded and took one last glance at the pinkette in his arms, his stony expression softening the slightest of bits before he turned his back to the Sand siblings.

Sakura's skin was paler than before, her entire body was covered in a cold sweat and yet she was shivering. Her lips were pale and held a light blue hue while her eyes were moving beneath her closed lids, her breathing irregular and heavy.

Never would he have thought to see his little brothers teammate in such a vulnerable state and even though he couldn't say that he cared for her as anything other than his advisor and a loyal kunoichi of Konoha, he didn't want her to die nonetheless. She was a very skilled medic and kunoichi that Konoha would have trouble to replace and besides of the fact that many people, including his little brother and his blonde teammate would deeply mourn her loss, Itachi had a feeling that Sakura's purpose in his life wasn't quite fulfilled yet either.

She wouldn't allow her to die, not when he still had a say in it.

"Farewell."

And with that, he jumped out of the window and started his journey back to Konoha.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama!" A panicked yell echoed through the hallways of the Hokage tower, causing Tsunade to look up from the staples of papers that she was currently working on in Itachi's absence in surprise.

She didn't know who would be as stupid as to cause such a commotion at this early hour, especially whilst knowing that the Godaime was busy and not to be interrupted, but she hoped for his sake that he had a damn good reason to do so.

Her honey orbs moved to the door as a young messenger who seemed to be around Naruto's age stumbled into the room and fell onto his knees, clearly out of breath and covered in sweat.

"What's the meaning of this?" Tsunade inquired, eerily calm as she shot her guards a look that caused a shiver to run down both of their spines.

"He wouldn't listen and insisted to see you, saying that he received an urgent message from S-Sunagakure." The first one said, slapping the young messenger on the back of his head. The young messenger in return winced and rubbed the back of his head with a pout, shooting the guard a glare.

"Suna?" Tsunade asked, her words cutting through the office like a knife. She put her pen down and ignored the sudden chill that filled the office as she extended her hand, motioning to the letter that the messenger was tightly holding.

The young boy scrambled onto his feet and gave her the letter, urgent eyes never leaving the blonde's face.

"It's bad." He whispered, gulping down the lump in his throat. "Really bad."

Tsunade gripped the letter tighter than necessary as her eyes scanned the contents of the letter, eyes narrowing further with every word that she read.

The silence that filled the office with the exception of the messengers rushed breathing was suffocating as all eyes were on the Godaime Hokage, whose eyes ever left the letter.

She re-read it once, twice before she slammed the paper onto the wooden desk.

"Shizune!" She bellowed as she pushed herself away from her desk and stood up, her palms firmly planted on the desks surface, crumbling the paper in the process.

Shizune, having heard Tsunade's call instantly rushed in with a concerned expression. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"Move all patients that are currently in the ICU to the second floor and prepare Room 35A for an emergency poison extraction. No one is allowed to enter the room with the exception of you and me regardless of the circumstances. Also, make sure to keep it on the low, I need to prepare myself." She ordered, getting a chorus of "Yes, Godaime-sama!" in return as the three men made their way out of her office in a flash, leaving only Shizune and Tsunade behind.

The blonde woman heaved a deep sigh as she turned around and looked out of the broad windows of her office and down onto the lively village. Just as the messenger has said, things looked bad. She didn't know how this happened, nor did she know if Itachi would make it back in time and in one piece, but all she knew was that she would have some very tiring hours ahead of her if she wanted to save Sakura's life.

"Tsunade-sama, may I ask what's going on?" Shizune timidly asked, face scrunched up in concern. If what she managed to pick up from the messengers words was true and her assumptions were right she had every reason to be concerned for either the Hokage's or her friends life.

Tsunade remained silent and continued to gaze down onto the village, thoughts racing. She knew best that if someone would be able to save her apprentice, then it would be her, but a poison extraction such as this would pose a challenge for even someone as skilled and experienced as her.

After all, she knew it best- for she was once years ago in the same position. The mere reminder of this fateful day years ago caused her heart to painfully clench beneath her chest as the familiar and haunting images of the day played in front of her eyes.

Tsunade clenched her fists out of anger, her honey eyes dimming with shame.

This time, it would end differently- this time, she would succeed.

She had to.

* * *

He has been running at full speed for one day straight without taking any break and slowly, he noticed how she was becoming heavier in his arms. If Itachi had been running on his own without any additional weight, he wouldn't have any troubles but with Sakura in his arms, it slowly took a toll on him.

They had been very fortunate that Itachi managed to outrun the sandstorm that was supposed to appear one hour after his departure, for that would have only slowed him down and tired him out even more.

By now Itachi managed to reach the Land of the Rivers, Sakura still unconscious in his arms. It was raining heavily and Itachi was drenched to the bone, jumping from tree to tree with the help of his chakra. Konoha was a one day travel away from their current location if he were to pull through, but Itachi knew that this was impossible, as much as he wanted to finally reach it.

He was running low on chakra and needed to rest, just like he should find a place where he could start a fire so that they wouldn't freeze to death due to the rain.

In comparison to Suna's heat, it was quite cold in River even though it was only autumn and due to the rain and sudden climatic change, their bodies had to accustom to the sudden cold in or way or another.

Itachi activated his Sharingan and scanned the area as he continued to jump through the trees, looking out for anything that may give them some sort of shelter.

Of course he could have also taken the main route and stopped by a village, but after their last incident he wasn't too keen on doing that. Besides, now that he was on his own and Sakura was in a critical condition, they were an easy target. If a group of shinobi would attack them, he would have troubles to fight them off while ensuring Sakura's safety _and_ making it back in time.

So he decided to take the more isolated path, not that it mattered to him. It seemed that in his life, he ironically always preferred to take the more isolated path now that he thought of it.

Funny how life worked.

After one more hour of running, he finally managed to pick up a small cavern not too far away, isolated from the forest that they were about to depart.

He shifted Sakura in his arms and briefly glanced down at the pinkette to ensure that she was still breathing, content to see her chest rise and fall in an unsteady rhythm.

Sakura didn't even wake once during their travel and as much as he appreciated the silence, he couldn't help but feel like even though she was present, it was still too silent. Never would Itachi have thought that he would feel affected by the loss of Sakuras constant chatter and arguments.

It was weird to hold her in his arms without her saying anything, if he daresay so.

 _I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult. Sorry for not being too chatty while being unconscious, Uchiha._

Her mocking voice filled Itachis mind as he jumped down from the last tree and continued towards the cavern, his grip on her tightening as he narrowed his eyes for the slightest of bits.

Even though he didn't know her for too long, he could already imagine what her responses would be like. He didn't know whether that was a good or a bad thing.

Deciding that he should not think of the pinkette too much, he finally arrived at the cave and was pleased to find that it was rather spacious, contrary to what it seemed like from the outside.

The sound of his wet sandals colliding with the stone ground echoed through the otherwise silent cave as he walked deeper inside.

Itachi slowly lowered Sakura onto the ground so that she was in a sitting position, her back leaned against the cold cavern wall. Itachi knelt down in front of her and gently turned her head so that she would be in a more comfortable position, the burning skin beneath his fingers not easing his concern of reaching Konoha in time.

Itachi managed to shield her from most of the rain so Sakura didn't get too drenched, but he wouldn't risk her getting sick on top of poisoned and thus, went back on his feet and gathered some twigs before he used one of his katon jutsus and started a fire.

The light of the flames lightened up the dark cavern and even though it wasn't a big fire due to the rather small amount of dry twigs that he managed to find, it would suffice to keep them from freezing.

Itachi removed his wet vest and dropped it onto the ground next to the fire in hope of it drying before his eyes drifted to Sakura, inwardly contemplating as to what to do.

Whereas she was obviously having a high fever she was still shaking considerably, the light of the flames illuminating her sickly pale skin.

Deciding that there was no helping it, Itachi settled down next to her so that her head rested on his shoulder, his arm propped on his right knee as he gazed into the flames, deep in thought.

He never was one who liked to be touched if not necessary but he wasn't heartless either and thus, he decided that he could make an exception.

He didn't need to hear her complain about a sore neck as soon as she woke up, he told himself as he suddenly grew more aware of her head on his shoulder.

Her long pink locks tickled his neck as it flowed down along his arm in unruly waves, bringing a stark contrast to his black clothes. Her dry lips were lightly parted as she fought to take one breath after another, droplets of sweat running down her forehead. She looked beyond exhausted and even slightly pained the more he looked at her.

Itachi could only imagine the pain that she must be in judging by what he was told by the Kazekage and his siblings and he was certain that if it wasn't Sakura but anyone else who would have been poisoned, they wouldn't have made it this far alive.

Sakura was a strong woman indeed, he couldn't deny that.

It was after around an hour passed and the rain increased that he suddenly felt a shift in her swaying chakra. It was minimal, but it instantly caught his attention.

He glanced to his right through half-lidded eyes to see her brows tightly furrowed before she forced her heavy-lidded eyes open, revealing dull emerald eyes.

Itachi didn't dare to move as her soft groan filled the cavern, her eyes slowly shifting from the fire in front of them to the ceiling before she closed them once more.

This time, however, he knew that despite of her closed eyes she finally was awake.

"Uchiha?" She breathed, shifting her head so that she could tightly press her forehead against his shoulder, her face scrunching up in pain as she gritted her teeth tightly.

Itachi was mildly surprised that she was able to recognize him in her state and glanced down at her, careful to pick up anything that may point towards something alarming.

"Aa. You shouldn't waste your energy on speaking, Haruno, it's not recommended in your state." He spoke, voice low so that she wouldn't get too startled.

Sakura let out what sounded like a huff, still too exhausted to open her eyes. "Getting poisoned during a political gathering isn't quite recommended either, is it?"

Her voice was weak and yet he managed to pick up the bitterness that laced her words. "It isn't." He agreed. "However, it was something that no one reckoned with. You are not at fault."

Sakura remained silent for a few moments, the sound of the fire cackling filling the cave and if he didn't knew better, he would have believed her to have lost consciousness once more.

Her next words however caught him off guard.

"I am not ready to die yet."

Itachi turned his head so that he could fully look at her face and this time, her eyes were open and looking straight at his face, though unfocused.

He found himself once more immersed by the sight of her. Even at the brink of death, she didn't speak these words teary-eyed whilst pathetically begging him to save her.

No, she spoke these words out of honesty and determination. Though knowing that her chances of survival were low, Sakura would not give up without a fight. She still had many things that she wanted to achieve in this life and wasn't ready to give them up just yet. She hereby entrusted him her own life, determined that even if she would die, she didn't do so without putting up a fight.

Itachi kept her gaze locked with his silently daring her to look away as his onyx eyes were fixed on her. "You won't, not for as long as I have a say in it so rest assured." His eyes then softened for the slightest of bits. "You won't die."

Sakura tried her hardest to muster up a small smile, beyond grateful to the Uchiha. Even though they weren't what she would call on the best terms and he continuously drove her to her wits ends, he was willing to push his body to its limits just to get her back to Konoha when it mattered the most.

And this she would forever be grateful for.

She opened her mouth to say something but all words died in her throat when she suddenly noticed Itachi's frown and the way his eyes shifted from her eyes to her nose.

Too exhausted and dizzy to move, she glanced at him in concern, not liking his gaze.

"What-" She managed to whisper, the sudden dizziness causing her headache to worsen as Itachi moved so that he was sitting in front of her, gently holding her chin with his left hand whilst his thumb brushed over the space between her nose and lower lip, eyes hard.

Her eyes fell onto his thumb that was now covered in blood, and not a small amount of it. Emerald clashed with onyx as he pursed his lips.

"We should leave."

Grabbing his vest from where it was drying next to the fire, Itachi moved back to Sakura and helped her lean forwards so that he could put it on. It wasn't much to shield her from the cold, but he had to maintain her current body temperature somehow.

Sakura, too weak to protest merely closed her eyes and allowed herself to be picked up by him, knowing that things just got ten times worse. Itachi noticed that she was close to passing out again and grimly noted that her nose was still bleeding as he put out the fire.

He would have to hurry if he wanted to keep his word to her.

With one last glance at the pouring rain the Uchiha took off into the darkness of the night, leaving no trace and making no sound as he hurried to reach his destination.

It took him one more day of running without taking a break before he got within Konoha's reach in the middle of the following night. He passed by the guards that were posted at the borders and jonin that patrolled without them noticing, covered by the shadows and sounds of the night.

She was still in his arms, alive but barely breathing. Whereas her breaths have been shallow and uneven before, it seemed that inhaling even the smallest bits of air was hurting her.

Itachi was relieved when he saw the familiar gates but kept it from allowing him to slow down for even the smallest bits.

Just because he succeeded in getting her to Konoha in time didn't mean that she would survive, nor that she would recover even if Tsunade-sama would be able to save her.

He passed through the gates at a speed that allowed him to remain unnoticed and from then on, his legs automatically found their way to the hospital entrance.

As soon as he reached the tall building he noticed that Tsunade was already standing in the doorway with a dozen of medics behind her. She must have felt the way Sakura's faint chakra was already flickering and notified the medics of their arrival.

As Itachi jumped down from the last roof and landed in front of the group with the grace of a feline, a collection of gasps and murmurs of concern between the medics broke the heavy silence as their eyes fell on the drenched and exhausted Hokage that was holding the medic everyone looked up to.

Itachi's eyes instantly caught Tsunade who openly displayed her concern at the sight that greeted her.

It looked bad, there was no need to hide it.

"Silence!" Tsunade yelled, instantly shushing the already gossiping medics behind her. Now wasn't the time for assumptions, theories and gossip.

Now, they had to save a life.

"Saito, Kenshi, you take Sakura from Itachi!" The Godaime bellowed, said males in return hastily nodding as they reluctantly rushed towards the Uchiha that was still holding onto Sakura, his mere presence overpowering everyone elses that was present.

The two males stopped in front of Itachi as the Uchiha eyed them in silence, somehow reluctant to let go of the pinkette. The moment he would let go of her would be the moment that he would lose the last bit of control that he had over Sakura's fate and he had come to realize that he didn't like it one bit.

"Itachi." Tsunade called, voice hard and yet eyes soft as she noticed the Uchiha's hesitation. "We need to hurry."

Itachi snapped back to reality and gave her a curt nod before he gently handed Sakura's limp body to one of the two medics whose name he didn't even bother to remember.

This was it.

"Get her inside. Shizune, show Itachi to his assigned room." She ordered as the male medics holding Sakura rushed past her and straight into the hospital. The blonde turned around and with one last look over her shoulder towards Itachi sprinted inside, followed by the remaining medics.

"Hokage-sama." Shizune gently called, bowing as his eyes fell on her. "Please follow me. I'll show you to your room where you can rest until Tsunade-sama will be able to see you."

On normal occasions Itachi wouldn't have bothered to even considered the offer and would have simply left to go home and rest, but this time he knew that he couldn't do so.

As her superior, he couldn't just go home and sleep without knowing the condition of his advisor. It would be tactless and disrespectful and since Tsunade would most likely want to see him after she treated Sakura regardless of the outcome, he may as well just stay at the hospital.

So in the end, he reluctantly decided to follow Shizune into the hospital, all the while his pink haired advisor haunted his mind.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone! Are you surprised to see me update already? Well I certainly didn't expect to finish this chapter this early either but hey, I was quite motivated thanks to all of your reviews, favors and follows!

I hope that you liked this chapter despite of there not happening _all_ too much. But I would still like to know what you guys think!

Do you think that Sakura will survive? Will there be some damage to her body if she survives? What about the rest of Team Seven and Tsunade?

So many questions! I hope that you are looking forward to the next chapter loves! Don't forget to tell me what you think of this chapter, if you liked it and if you did, what you think will happen next!

As you have probably also noticed the chapters are slowly beginning to get longer and that is due to the fact that I am slowly starting to get the plot into motion.

I'll update as soon as I can so stay tuned!

I love you all from the bottom of my heart.

Love,

Sara


	8. The Hokage's advisor

**CHAPTER 8-** _The Hokage's advisor_

* * *

"Hokage-sama, the bleeding won't stop!"

Tsunade cursed as she burst through the door of the ICU, a handful of medics following her. Her honey orbs instantly fell on Sakura who was laying on a stretcher in the middle of the room, the familiar white walls of the room suddenly seeming too small to occupy all of them.

But then again, maybe it was just her imagination.

"What are you all waiting for? Move to your assigned positions!" Tsunade barked as she rolled up her long and wide sleeves while the medics all scrambled to their position that the Godaime had previously assigned them to.

They were now all circling Sakura, each one of them having a purpose while Tsunade moved to stand at Sakura's stomach, hands already glowing as she placed them on Sakura.

Whereas there has been utter chaos despite of their previous planning before, now all there was was silence. Tense and utter silence.

"You know what to do everyone, I am going to start now." Tsunade declared in a low tone before she closed her eyes and then, begun.

She allowed her chakra to enter Sakura's body but whereas medics usually let it flow in at a faster pace especially during emergency cases, Tsunade's chakra entered Sakura's body at a painfully slow pace.

The poison had already started to damage Sakura's vitals and if she were to simply let it flow in, the poison that nestled itself into her organs would react and cause Sakura even worse pain that she was already in.

"My chakra has now successfully entered her body."

Her entire skin was tingling and despite of the calm expression that she wore, she still found herself under more pressure than she liked to be in.

As a medic one had to stay professional, regardless of who they were treating but this time, it wasn't as easy for Tsunade to get rid of her concerns.

"Her kidneys seem to have received less damage than expected. The poison has only affected the right one and just by a quarter." She spoke, loud enough for the medic who was taking notices to follow her.

She continued to scan Sakura's vitals with her chakra, focused on every little detail. Poison extractions were very tricky and every little detail mattered, just like every little drop that she may oversee and that would therefore remain in her body.

"The poison didn't affect her uterus either." At that, she inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. Sakura was a young and otherwise healthy woman, to tell her that she would be unable to bear children would be like a punch to her face that she could gladly live without.

"Now the liver." Tsunade mumbled, stopping short at what she felt. There it was, problem number one. "Her liver will fail every moment now if we don't extract the poison from her system asap. Aiko, is everything prepared?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." The girl to her left replied, her voice coming out more shaky than she intended it to. The brown haired girl gently placed her hand over Sakura's liver as Tsunade continued to move her chakra through the pinkette.

"Her gall-bladder, bladder and spleen are just mildly affected as well." So far, it didn't look too bad. Tsunade has already feared that Sakura's organs would be beyond repair but so far, they seemed to be in a condition where they were damaged, but not to the point that she couldn't heal them.

It would be hard, yes, but it was possible.

"Her heart and her lungs are mostly affected by the poison. Her bronchial tube-"

She was interrupted by the shrill beeping sound of the monitor that suddenly went off, causing Tsunade to snap her eyes upwards. "Damn it!" She yelled and with that, the chaos started.

"Kiko, her bleeding!"

"It won't stop, it seems like healing her with my chakra doesn't work even the slightest!" The shaken medic shrieked as she continued to hold her hand over Sakura's face in hope of getting her bleeding to stop.

"Honoka!"

The blonde that was standing in front of Tsunade looked up with a grim expression. "Ventricular fibrillation."

Tsunade pursed her lip, clearly displeased as she removed her hands from Sakura and looked at the rest, the beeping sound not ceasing. She would have preferred to have started the extraction while Sakura was stable but it looked like she wouldn't be able to do that now.

Tsunade then formed a series of all too familiar seals, her hands taking on a blue hue before she inhaled deeply, eyes blank. The normal method of extracting a usual poison wouldn't work here, so she would have to use a stronger jutsu and a more painful method.

"Get ready."

The simple command was all warning that the medics received before Tsunade placed her hands on Sakura's chest and then, begun.

* * *

Two hours.

Itachi managed to sleep for two full hours before the approaching footsteps of a familiar person gently ripped him out of his slumber. That was the downside of being a ninja, there was no such thing as a peaceful slumber. You had to be on high alert, regardless of where you were and whether you liked it or not, the mere sound of footsteps would rip you out of even your deepest sleep.

He heard the code for his room being entered, the beeping sounds breaking the silence before the door was rather roughly pushed open.

Itachi inwardly sighed, knowing very well who it was that decided to bother him at this early hour.

The door was carelessly slammed shut right after, the sound of a chair scraping against the ground being enough to annoy him as he mentally prepared himself for the conversation that would take place. He didn't expect them to be considerate of his current exhaustion or anything, but their intent was more than obvious judging by the way they were purposefully trying to get his attention.

"Uchiha, we need to talk."

Figures. It seemed like lately, everyone made an appearance to annoy the hell out of him just for the sake of it, or so it seemed. Itachi really wasn't in the mood, especially now that he had his advisor to be concerned about.

Itachi lazily opened his eyes, instantly making out his visitor despite of the darkness that covered the room like a thin blanket. He didn't even bother to hide the spark of annoyance that entered his eyes upon seeing that his assumptions had been right and tilted his head to his right ever so slightly.

"I am curious to know as to what is important enough to disturb my sleep after my rather long and exhausting journey back to Konoha, Shimura Danzo." Itachi coolly spoke, not in the mood to exchange any pleasantries.

Danzo in return offered Itachi a wry grin, acting as if he didn't take any offense to Itachi's words. "I have received word of the rather unfortunate circumstances that you and your advisor found yourself in." His grin then fell and what seemed to be a sympathetic expression found its way on his face. "It is very unfortunate indeed. How does she fare?"

At that, Itachi's face remained blank. He didn't know what Danzo wanted to get out of him but he wouldn't give the council member any information that he didn't already have. He didn't knowing why the council member took any interest in Sakura's poisoning incident and whereas it was true that it could be considered a political issue, he knew that Danzo just wanted to get involved in this for his own reasons.

Itachi never liked him, and his aversion towards the Uchiha clan was no secret either, so he didn't consider small talk necessary.

"Godaime-sama is currently treating her, though I wonder how my advisors condition is any of your concern." Itachi commented, instantly noticing the way Danzo's already cold eyes darkened.

Danzo straightened as he narrowed his eyes. "As a member of the council, every political matter is automatically my concern. I also find it very astounding as well as concerning that someone managed to poison the Godaimes apprentice in the first place, considering that she is supposed to be both an extraordinary medic and kunoichi."

At this, Itachi narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "What is it that you actually want to tell me, Shimura-san?" The Uchiha heir inquired, already suspicious of Danzos intentions.

Danzo folded his arms above his chest and hid them in his long sleeves, his face holding a very prominent frown. "I advise you to overthink your decision of keeping Haruno Sakura as your advisor." He eventually told him, the corner of his lips turned downwards. "So far, she had done nothing productive for Konoha and instead merely caused a commotion and unnecessary trouble that could have easily been prevented. You should replace her, that is, _if_ she survives in the first place."

Itachi should have already expected this and yet, he couldn't help but frown at the audacity of the council member. Why did he keep on intervening business that was none of his concern? Whether he would keep her as his advisor or not was his and his only decision. It was one thing for Danzo to know about the incident itself, but it was _Itachi_ who was the Hokage, not him.

And he would make sure to remind him of that and to put him back in his rightful place.

"She will survive, for I in comparison to you have full confidence in Tsunade-sama's skill and Haruno-sans will to live." Itachi lowly spoke, his voice cutting through the room like a shuriken. "Your concern is noted, but as the Hokage I will take care of this matter on my own, just like every other matter there is concerning Konoha and its safety. Your interference is not appreciated and I will I tolerate any insult on my way of handling matters nor towards my advisor."

By now, Danzo openly displayed his displeasure. The council member huffed as he rose from his seat, the chair scraping on the ground as he pushed it back. He held Itachi's gaze for a few more moments before his expression turned sour.

"Very well then, but keep in mind that the council will tolerate only so much before they decide to take care of matters their own way." Danzo said, his voice leveled but his eyes burning.

Itachi frowned upon hearing his words, his patience slowly beginning to wear thin as his eyes darkened. "It would do you good to remember who you are talking to Shimura." He told the older male, having every intention of reminding him just _who_ exactly he was talking to if he were to continue with his disrespectful behavior towards him.

Danzo thinned his lips as he stubbornly held his gaze but just as he was about to speak up, the door opened and in rushed a breathless Shizune who stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Itachi's visitor.

"My apologizes." She breathed, dark eyes moving from Danzo to Itachi. "I didn't know that Hokage-sama was expecting a visitor."

"I didn't." Itachi deadpanned, shooting Danzo a pointed look before said male cleared his throat, displeased at their sudden interruption.

Shizune, instantly sensing the tension in the room stood awkwardly in the doorway, biting her tongue to refrain herself from spilling any information in Danzo's presence. The council member of course took notice of the woman's hesitance and turned towards the door, ready to leave the room.

"I should take my leave." He declared, shooting Itachi one last pointed look over his shoulder. "You should take my words to heart, Hokage-sama."

And with that, he left without uttering as much as one more word, leaving Shizune to stare after him in wonder and Itachi to glare at the door in obvious displeasure before his attention shifted to the young woman that decided to rather boldly burst into his room in the middle of the night.

"You have news." He stated,his voice causing Shizune to snap back into reality in an instant.

"Oh, right." A bright smile then found itself onto her lips as she clapped her hands together and her eyes brightened in delight. "Tsunade-sama managed to extract the poison from Sakura's body and is currently resting. It was a very close call though and therefore we are not certain if the poison has left any hidden damages on Sakura's body or not, but we will know more as soon as Sakura wakes up. "

Itachi found himself strangely relieved by the news. He was glad that he didn't spend the past two days running back to Konoha in vain and that he was able to partake in her survival, but he knew that it was too early for them to celebrate the good news just yet. They didn't know how much damage the poison actually caused besides for the obvious one that Tsunade apparently managed to heal, so they should simply wait and see.

At least one thing was sure, though. She survived and wouldn't die anytime though and that was all that mattered.

"I see." Was all that Itachi said as he averted his eyes from Shizune back to the window that he was formerly looking out of before Danzos arrival, unsure of what else to say.

"I will take my leave then. Tsunade-sama will see you in a few hours, so please refrain from leaving the hospital before she made sure that you are well enough to do so." Shizune told him with a smile before she bowed and left the brooding Uchiha on his own behind.

* * *

It was two days later that Sakura finally regained consciousness.

At first, she didn't even realize where she was, nor what had happened. All she knew was that her entire body was sore, her head was killing her and that the damn hospital lights prevented her from fully getting her eyes to open.

"Slow down there girl, I wouldn't advise you to do that just yet."

Sakura instantly recognized that voice and grimaced as she forced her eyes open and was greeted by the sight of her rather blurry mentor standing at the end of her bed, arms crossed above her big chest as she wore a disapproving frown.

"Shishou." Sakura croaked out, confusion flashing in her eyes as her vision cleared and her eyes strayed from Tsunade to roam the room. "What happened?"

Tsunade sighed at the sight of her apprentice that resembled a walking corpse. The dark circles under her eyes were still as prominent as before and even though Sakura's skin wasn't as pale as before anymore, she still looked beyond weak and exhausted.

She couldn't blame her, of course, but the sight still wasn't a pretty one. No one should be allowed to see a kunoichi of her class in this state with the exception of herself for the sake of her own reputation.

Though, Naruto and the rest of her friends had other things in mind.

"You look horrible girl, but that's what you get for giving us such a scare." Tsunade commented, expression stern as she continued to scold her apprentice. "What did you think you were doing anyways, getting poisoned by the worst kind and almost dying as well!"

Sakura groaned as she pulled her blanket over her head, not ready for Tsunades scolding just yet. "Come on Shishou, could you please spare me your lecture? I just woke up and it wasn't like I had any say in getting poisoned either!" Sakura whined before she huffed, a pout on her lips. "Oh, and thanks for telling me that I look horrible."

A moment of silence passed and just as she was about to peek up from beneath her blanket she suddenly felt it getting roughly pulled off of her body.

Sakura squealed out of surprised but due to her weak body she was unable to do as much as even move out of protest and only barely managed to shoot the blonde weak glare.

Tsunade in return lifted a blonde brow, daring Sakura to do as much as open her mouth as she tapped her heel on the ground. "Now that you finally decided to wake up after all the hard work that I put into healing you, you better tell me what exactly happened. That Uchiha brat left the hospital before I was able to ask him even though I told him not to." She muttered, her frown deepening before her honey eyes fell back on Sakura, who was now looking at Tsunade with a concerned expression.

It was then that it all came back, her collapsing in the morning and waking up in the cave as Itachi took his break from traveling back to Konoha.

She frowned as she slowly turned her head to look to her right, a thoughtful expression on her face as she tried to ignore her pounding head.

"Shishou, what happened after I collapsed in Suna?" Sakura inquired, her face serious as she looked back to her mentor who eventually threw the blanket back over Sakura's body before she walked towards the window and sighed, casually leaning against it.

"I received a letter from the Kazekage, telling me that you have been poisoned and that Itachi would return with you within the following two days." Tsunade started, her eyes darkening. "I won't lie Sakura, it was a very close call. Whoever poisoned you knew exactly what he had to use to cause your body damage and if Itachi would have arrived only ten minutes later than he had, you wouldn't have made it."

At this Sakura tensed, not quite sure as to how she was supposed to react to this. She knew that it was a close call and was beyond grateful to Tsunade that she had put so much effort into healing her, but she would have never expected Itachi, someone whom she barely knew, to run the entire way from Suna back to Konoha all on his own to save her.

"I would have never expected him to do that, considering that our relationship isn't what you would call great." Sakura admitted, a wave of guilt washing over her. "How is he?"

Tsunade sighed. "He is fine, I guess. He returned home while I was treating you and I haven't heard of him ever since, meaning that Mikoto is taking care of him." She shrugged, before adding. "She wanted to visit you by the way, just like Naruto and the rest of your friends. Consider yourself lucky that I managed to keep them away from you until now, that brat threatened to kick the door open if he wouldn't get to see you by the end of this week."

Sakura couldn't fight the smile that instantly took over her face upon hearing about Naruto's antics. She simply loved that boy.

Her smile fell when she noticed that she had seemingly failed to properly pick up a rather important piece of information from Tsunade though. "Mikoto-san wants to visit me?" She asked, surprised that the Uchiha matriarch wanted to see her.

Tsunade nodded. "She was pretty worried about you as well, so don't get too surprised when she decides to pay you a visit." She advised, before straightening once more. "But we can deal with that later. For now, you should rest some more. You are still in no condition to welcome all these visitors at once, so hurry up and get back on your feet, will you?"

Tsunade moved to leave when Sakura gently grabbed her mentors wrist, halting the blonde who in return looked down at her in question.

"Thank you Shishou, for _everything_." Sakura whispered, both gratefulness as well as apologetic to her mentor for the past few days. She knew that she must have caused a lot of trouble and work to her mentor, Itachi and all the medics that took part in saving her, and no words would ever be able to express her gratitude towards them.

Tsunade's eyes softened as a heavy sigh escaped her lips and she turned around to place her hand on Sakura's head in a motherly and affection way. This girl managed to give her a heart attack that was anything but appreciated but she could never blame Sakura for what happened. Poor girl already had enough things to deal with already and judging by the way things were going, she feared that this was only the beginning.

"Get some rest, we'll talk tomorrow."

Receiving one last smile from Sakura, Tsunade left the room with a heavy heart while the pinkette decided to use her free time to rest some more before she would be forced to face the following days and everything that it had to offer.

Three more days have passed after her talk with Tsunade and by then Sakura felt a lot better. Naruto and the rest have also already paid her a visit two days ago but her two teammates visited her more frequently than the rest, of course, not that it surprised her.

"We were worried sick, Sakura-chan!" Naruto had said as he pulled her into a bone crushing hug, causing her pat his back with a smile as she struggled to breathe.

"Don't do that again, stupid." Sasuke muttered as he gently flicked her forehead, earning a pout from the pinkette in return.

"Ah Sakura-chan, always getting yourself in trouble. Didn't I teach you better?" Kakashi had playfully scolded as he gently ruffled her hair, earning a groan from the medic.

The rest of her friends have reacted in a similar matter as Naruto though, and whereas all of them knew about her being poisoned, Tsunade left out the part of Itachi getting her back and her almost dying.

Sasuke of course had his suspicions due to having overheard his mother telling his father that Itachi arrived around the same time as Sakura was delivered into the hospital, but he decided against asking his teammate about it.

Sakura was now sitting on her bed, reading a book that Hinata brought her to pass some time after Shizune left a few minutes ago. She still needed a regular check-up and was far from fully recovered, but she would be able to get released in around a week or less if her condition wouldn't suddenly worsen, much to her relief.

Whereas she loved to work at the hospital, she hated to be a patient herself. She always needed to do something, anything to keep herself from getting bored and even though her friends tried their best to keep her entertained, she simply couldn't help but count the day until she would get discharged anyways.

It was half an hour later when someone knocked on her door. Sakura, half expecting it to be either one of her boys or the hospital staff was surprised to see that contrary to her expectations it was Mikoto Uchiha who entered her room with a basked of fruits and a bright smile.

"Mikoto-sama!" She greeted with a surprised yet genuine smile as she closed her book and instantly straightened. Sakura, suddenly conscious of just who was visiting her, swiftly run a hand through her hair and hoped that she didn't look as much as horrible as she did the days before. It wasn't every day that the Uchiha matriarch who was one of the most well known woman of the village and at the same time your boss' mother decided to pay you a visit.

Mikoto entered her room and placed the basket on the small table next to her bed and moved to sit down next to Sakura on the bed, a soft smile on her lips as her concerned eyes fell on the pinkette.

"You must be surprised to see me." She guessed and at the sheepish smile that Sakura offered her in return, a chuckle escaped her lips. "Well it's to be expected. How do you feel?"

"Better." Sakura admitted with a sigh, not uncomfortable but also not quite comfortable in Mikoto's presence. She had already had the pleasure of meeting Mikoto several times in the past when she would invite her and Naruto over to the Uchiha manor for dinner while Itachi and their father were away on some missions to keep her company and whereas she was beyond nice and caring, she never actually got to talk to her on her own. Besides, with Itachi being the Hokage and all that happened during the past few days, she still felt guilty for having put her son through so much stress.

"Well, that's certainly nice to hear!" Mikoto said, clapping her hands together out of delight at the news. "How long do you have to stay here?"

Sakura couldn't help but return the smile as she started to gradually grow more comfortable around her teammates mother. "I am afraid that I will have to stay at the hospital for one more week, but I'll be able to go back to work at the office the week after I have been discharged that so it's not too bad at all."

She knew that Tsunade wouldn't let her work at the hospital for another month or so, so Sakura ha very little other things to do in her free time since she couldn't exactly go on missions this early after her getting discharged either.

Sakura was certain that she would be occupied with all kind of paper work and errands by the Hokage though, that was if he still wanted her to be his advisor in the first place.

She inwardly sighed, reminding herself that she still needed to talk to him as well.

"Don't stress yourself dear." Mikoto gently said, waving her hand in a nonchalant matter. "Itachi will understand so don't break your head over that."

Sakura hoped that her smile didn't seem as bitter as it felt on her lips. "How is Hokage-sama doing?" She politely asked, genuinely curious as to how he was doing after the past week. She hadn't seen him even once ever since she woke in the cavern and whereas she didn't take Uchiha Itachi as one to pay her a hospital visit, Sasuke refrained from telling her anything related to his big brother for reasons unknown to her.

Mikoto's smile suddenly brightened and for a second, something flashed in her dark eyes that disappeared just before Sakura was able to make out what it was. Then, the Uchiha suddenly started to chuckle, much to both Sakura's confusion and surprised.

Had she said anything funny?

"Oh dear, he still forces you to call him by his title?" Mikoto asked, clearly not having expected that as amusement lightened up her eyes. "I should really have a word with him." She then sighed, earning a suddenly panicked look from Sakura.

"Oh, that's not necessary!" Sakura swiftly protested, an uneasy smile on her rosy lips at the sudden shift in the mood of the Uchiha matriarch. "I don't mind calling him by his title or his family name, in fact I am more comfortable this way." She insisted, just for Mikoto to furrow her brows upon hearing her words.

She knew that her son rarely opened up to others but he hoped that he would at least try to do so towards Sakura. She, after all, was his advisor and would spent a lot of time with him whether he liked it or not. It seemed like her son was being stubborn again and whereas she could understand him to some degree, Itachi needed to get more comfortable around his most recent acquintances.

Besides, Sakura was a lovely girl and he was very fortunate to have someone like her as his advisor. He needed to trust her if she would remain by his side as his right-hand man and whereas Mikoto knew that it would take time for her son to even do as much as accept her, she didn't expect it to take this long.

"So he's still as stubborn as ever, hm?" She mumbled, disappointment flashing in her eyes before she gently took hold of Sakura's hands. "May I ask you to grant me one favor, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura, confused as to what Mikoto could possibly want from her instantly nodded in return. She already felt bad enough as it was for Itachi to have run all the way from Suna to Konoha as it was, and after everything that Mikoto has done for her and Naruto back in the days, she couldn't possibly deny her a favor, however big it may be.

She really liked Mikoto, and if she would be able to somehow help her, she would do so in an instant.

Mikoto, content with Sakura's swift answer heaved a troubled sigh. "I know that Itachi is quite hard to understand and to get along with, but I also know that you are probably the only one who would be able to put up with his thick skull. He likes to isolate himself most of the time as well, especially if something important is going on and he usually wants to take care of it on his own, but he has to learn that he can't and shouldn't carry all the burden of the village on his own."

Sakura's expression softened as she saw the concern in Mikoto's eyes and squeezed the woman's hands.

"I think I understand what you are getting at, and maybe it will be of some assurance if I tell you that I didn't plan on letting him do everything his way that easily either, especially not for as long as I am his advisor. " Sakura assured her whilst offering her a small, yet genuine smile. "But I have to agree, he really _is_ pretty stubborn but don't worry, since I am quite stubborn myself I think that I'll somehow manage to put up with him."

At that, Mikoto couldn't contain her laugh as she pulled Sakura into a deep hug, her previous worries and concern eased by the medics words. "Thanks for easing a mothers worries Sakura-chan. Oh and if Itachi is being rude or anything, tell me and I'll take care of it."

Sakura smiled as she held Mikoto for some more moments, her thoughts occupied with a certain Uchiha even after she left.

* * *

A week passed ever since Mikoto's visit and Sakura spent most of her time at the hospital thinking about her conversation with her teammates mother. She wasn't the first one to tell Sakura that she probably was the only one who was able to deal with Itachi for several reasons, Tsunade and even Kakashi also told her on several occasions and after she had spend some thoughts on it, she could see why they thought this way.

Then again, she shouldn't deal with him just because of what they said, but because she was willing to do so by her own will. Itachi was not an easy person and she was sure that she would get a few gray hair during the following months but in the end, she decided to stay by his side because she knew that it would be for the best, and _not_ because anyone told her to.

What Mikoto said was true, she eventually realized. Itachi liked to isolate himself and to take care of things on his own and his way but with her as his advisor, she was determined to teach him a thing or two. Maybe, just maybe he really needed someone who wasn't scared to speak up or to disagree with him. Maybe he needed someone who wasn't afraid to speak her mind and to stand up for her thoughts and opinion and maybe then he would finally understand how important it was to depend on others.

It would take some time to even get to the point of him relying on her with matters, and she didn't even want to get started on how long it would take for him to trust her for the tiniest bits, but she would have to try.

And that was exactly why she was now standing in front of his office, determined to take the first step. If she wanted something to change and them to actually get along to some degree, she would have to approach him first since knowing Itachi, he wouldn't do so himself.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura raised her hand and gently knocked onto the large wooden door, pushing it open when he heard a small noise from the inside in return.

Mustering up the courage to paint a smile on her lips she confidently entered the office, ready to face the Uchiha that unbeknownst to her, had already expected her.

He was sitting behind his desk and was working on what seemed to be a report of some sorts, only looking up when the pinkette pointedly cleared her throat to get his attention.

Itachi's eyes moved from the paper in front of him to the pinkette that was standing in the middle of his office, looking considerably better than she did the last time he saw her. He could still see the faint dark circles under her eyes and her chakra was still not back at it's peak yet, but Tsunade did a great job in healing her in such a short time span nonetheless.

"Hokage-sama." Sakura greeted him, her smile not once wavering even as her gaze caught his own questioning one. "I hope that you have been well."

Itachi put his pen down and interlaced his hands in front of him, chin resting on them as he leaned his elbows on the surface of the table. He has not been bothered by anyone, so to say, and was able to get some rest before his duties as the Hokage kept him locked into his office for the past days. So it was as close to being well as he could possibly get.

"I think that I should be the one asking you that." He coolly returned as he openly scanned her body from her eyes down to her toes and back up again. "Though, it seems like Tsunade-sama did a great job at healing you."

Sakura forced herself to ignore the way a shiver suddenly crawled down the back of her spine upon feeling his eyes on her and settled for a nod. "Yeah, though I got an earful from her as soon as I woke up, but I guess that it can't be helped." She chuckled, absentmindedly noticing how she was calmer than she expected herself to be in his presence.

Maybe it had to do with the entire almost dying in his arms thing.

At that, Itachi smirked in a way that was eerily similar to Sasukes. "I expected no less from her. "

He watched her shake her head, sparks of amusement dancing in her eyes before she seemingly remembered the reason for her visit and her expression turned serious once more.

He had a feeling where this was going, and he had a feeling that her intentions for her visit were the very same ones that Itachi had for summoning her to his office tomorrow if she didn't visit him until then.

"I came to apologize." She started and suddenly, the earlier light atmosphere turned thick once more. Itachi inwardly sighed as he watched her do a perfect bow, the guilt that was palpably rolling off of her in waves not missing him. "I should have been more on alert and whereas I am grateful that you traveled all the way from Suna back to Konoha just for me not to die, I am also sorry for causing so much trouble in a first place."

Sakura was greeted by mere silence as she patiently waited for Itachi to speak up, inwardly preparing herself for anything that he may say or do since Itachi was quite unpredictable. While she was standing there, bowing in front of the Uchiha heir and Hokage she could practically feel his calculating gaze on her form, eyeing her closely.

It was when she was about to sneak a glance at Itachi that he finally spoke up, much to her relief. "There is no need to apologize Haruno, it happens to the best." He started, and Sakura instantly straightened with a relieved smile.

"Though, I don't intent to let this incident pass by without taking any action."

Her smile fell in the split of a second as she looked at him with a mixture of exasperation as well as acceptance. Sakura cleared her throat once more as she reluctantly nodded and bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from letting a sarcastic remark that was playing on the tip of her tongue slip.

"Of course, I expected as much." She said, her smile turning bittersweet.

Itachi moved so that he leaned back in his chair, eyeing her in amusement as he tilted his head lightly aside, his blank face not giving any of his thoughts away.

"Good." The Uchiha spoke, his velvet voice filling the office. "As you are probably aware, there are some people who dislike the idea of you being the Hokage's advisor for various reasons." He started, eyes locked on her face so that he wouldn't miss even the slightest facial movement of hers.

Sakura gave him a nod, this not being any news to her. "I am." Was all that she could say, not having a single clue as to how this was related to her poisoning incident. Of course he could fire her as his advisor but somehow, Sakura didn't feel like this was what he was getting at.

"Not many like the thought of the Godaime's former apprentice teaming up with the Hokage. You have great relations Haruno and have quite the reputation yourself, and that is something not many appreciate." He went on, watching her frown upon hearing his words. "You are an easy target and after the poisoning incident, they will believe you to be even weaker than they believed you to be."

Sakura crossed her arms above her chest and pursed her lips into a thin line, knowing that he was right. She now understood what he was getting at and how she fit into the puzzle. "The Hokage's advisor should be a person that they are unable to reach for if they reach me-"

"They'll get straight to me." Itachi finished, pleased that she was able to catch up with his thoughts. "As my advisor and right-hand man, you will become a very important player in this game Haruno, a player that I am supposed to rely on. " He explained, eyes darkening as he thought back to the incident a week ago.

Sakura instantly caught on with that he was saying and bit on her lower lip. "But you can't do that if I you don't know how if the player that you decided to rely on suddenly gets pulled away right in front of your eyes." She realized, now feeling incredibly stupid for not realizing all of this earlier.

She should have been prepared and whereas Tsunade and even Itachi told her that she couldn't have possibly known that someone would poison her, the timing was still very bad now that she was the Hokage's advisor.

Still, that knowledge didn't keep her from standing up for what she believed in. Regardless of who would have traveled with Itachi, it would have happened to every one of them. Getting poisoned during a fight was not uncommon and not even the best shinobi would have possibly been able to notice that they have been poisoned in the first place in time.

"I understand." Sakura admitted as she lifted her chin into the air, eyes locking with his. "But I won't allow others to look down on me or my skills as a kunoichi because of an incident that no one could have possibly prevented."

Itachi nodded, wordlessly agreeing with her as he noticed the sudden shift in her mood. This conversation was going just how he expected it to and once again, Haruno Sakura has not disappointed him with her stubbornness.

Maybe Tsunade was right and she really would be of some use.

"That's why I plan on turning you into a player that the others can't harm even when they stand right next to you."

This, however, Sakura didn't expect to hear from him. Eyes widening in surprise, Sakura had a hard time trusting her ears as she tried to make out if Itachi was actually offering what she believed him to.

"Pardon?"

"I will train you in both political matters as well as in physical combat." He elaborated, confirming her suspicions. " Since you already are skilled in both fields, I don't expect any disappointing results."

Well this was going better than she had expected and it didn't even take any convincing on her part. It seemed like they were finally on the same level, and that was something that she didn't expect to happen this soon.

"I accept your offer." Sakura offered him a dazzling smile, and Itachi for some reason felt strangely compelled to return it. That was, until she added-

"Though only under one condition."

Itachi lifted a dark brow at the medic as she crossed her arms above her chest, her demeanor suddenly changing from relieved to lecturing and Itachi had a strange feeling that he wouldn't like what she would propose.

"And what may that condition be?"

Sakura didn't bother to hide her smirk as she eyed the Uchiha in front of her with concealed amusement, finally feeling like things were going the way they were supposed to.

"I know that you probably plan on involving me as less as possible in Konoha's matters but that won't work with me." She informed him, ignoring the right corner of his lip curled upwards once more. "So if you decide to keep me as your advisor, I will involve myself as much as I deem fit so you'll either have to accept it or not. Also, so far I tried my best to be nice and considerate but since that obviously doesn't work on you, you'll have to deal with the very same Haruno that your brother does." She warned, mimicking his expression by lifting a rosy brow herself. "Do you think that you'll be able to do that, Uchiha-san?"

Itachi eyed the daring pinkette in front of him, admittedly enjoying the way she spoke her mind and didn't beat around the bush. She wasn't afraid to openly challenge him despite of his status and that certainly was a nice change in his dull everyday life that consisted of either paper-work or training.

Itachi had a feeling that his life would become less dull and monotonous from now on as he gazed into Sakura's determined eyes, not missing the way the smirk on her rosy lips dared to turn into a smile.

He has made his decision.

"I agree with your conditions, Haruno-san."

And with that, the wheels of fate were put into motion.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone! I hope that you are doing well!:)

As you can see, things are just now truly beginning and from now on, both Sakura and Itachi will be forced to spend way more time together than they did before. This is going to be an interesting ride, considering that this duo is both hot-headed, stubborn an hella sarcastic!

A lot of things are going to happen and starting by this chapter, the plot will officially start to roll. There is also more to the way that Sakura got poisoned if you didn't catch it in this chapter, but everything will get cleared up in the following chapters.

Also, a lot of old and new characters will make an appearance so stay tuned!

As always, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and that you are ready for the chapters that will follow! Thanks for all of your reviews, follows and favors! They are what keep me motivated so please tell me what you liked about this chapter and what you think will happen next by leaving a **review**. Is there anything that you wish to happen or any person that you want to make an appearance?

I am looking forward to hear from you!

Love,

Sara.


	9. Testing the waters

**CHAPTER 9-** _Testing the waters_

* * *

It was her first day back at the hospital and Sakura was more than ready to enjoy it as much as she could. After two rather uneventful weeks of training with her friends, helping Tsunade out with some hospital paper work and getting the amount of rest that she very much needed, she was glad to be back at the place that she felt most at home at right after her bed.

The hospital.

"Are you sure that you are ready to get back to work yet, Haruno?"

Sakura rolled her emerald eyes for what felt like the hundredth time this morning before she offered her mentor a sigh. "Yes, Tsunade-shishou. If I managed to survive training sessions with Naruto and Sasuke, I think that I am capable of going back to work as well, don't you think?"

The blonde haired female sitting behind her office desk merely narrowed her eyes in return, honey orbs carefully scanning the young pink-haired woman in front of her. "If anything, the mere fact that you and the brats went to train even though you were supposed to get some rest is reason enough for me to keep you away from the hospital for some more days, if not even weeks." Tsunade reminded her.

This time Sakura didn't even bother to suppress the groan upon hearing her mentors words. "Oh come on Shishou, I think that as a medic I should know when it's okay to train and when I should rest."

Tsunade lifted a perfectly shaped brow in return, almost in a mocking manner as she rested her elbows on her desk and interlaced her fingers in front of her. "I'll keep my eye on you girl. I'll still restrict your working hours at the hospital and drag you out of here myself if I deem it fit until you have fully recovered, both mentally and physically."

Sakura smiled, instantly picking up the concern that laced her mentors words as her expression softened. "Don't worry Tsunade-shishou, I am fine, really. But if you feel like I am pushing myself to my limits or am on the brink of fainting mid-surgery, I promise that I'll take a day off if you tell me to do so."

Tsunade eyed her for some more moments, still not quite pleased by Sakura's decision to go back to work but the blonde knew that there was very little she could do to change Sakura's mind once she had settled her mind on something.

She let out a defeated sigh.

"Very well then Sakura, but don't overdo it today, understood?" Tsunade yielded, the concern that weighted down her heart easing a little at the sight of Sakura's eyes brightening upon hearing her approval.

"Got it Shishou." Sakura returned, standing up from where she was seated before she smoothed down the fabric of her white coat and tied her wavy hair into a bun, the smile never leaving her rosy lips. "Please tell Shizune to meet me at the laboratory in an hour, I've been meaning to ask her some things regarding a poison for some time already."

Tsunade merely waved her hand and hushed the glowing pinkette out of her office, her expression only softening when Sakura threw her one last smile over her shoulder before the door to her office closed.

As soon as it did, the Godaime turned her chair and gazed out of the broad hospital window behind her, lips pursed and honey eyes dark with concern.

She had nothing against Sakura returning to work at the hospital when she wasn't busy with any Hokage related business, not at all. Sakura was a great medic and a very important pillar that the hospital strongly needed and relied on, so her help was more than welcomed.

What troubled the Godaime was that the higher ups were in a state of unrest and kept on sticking their nose into business that was none of their concern, especially since the Hokage was an Uchiha and not everyone was too pleased about that little detail.

Many other clan-elders have also taken notice of that and even though no one with the exception of one or two minded that an Uchiha was named the Hokage, it stirred up an even bigger split between the clans and their opinions regarding what would be best for Konoha and how Itachi should take care of things.

Tsunade sighed once more.

Yes, things would only get more complicated from now on and she could only hope that Sakura would be able to be the pillar of support that Itachi would need in order to keep everything from getting out of hand.

* * *

"You again?"

"Well if this isn't a warm welcome from my favorite student."

Sakura rolled her eyes as she put her clipboard onto the desk that was the corner of the examination room and moved to put on some gloves before she turned to face a certain silver-haired nin who was casually sitting on the examination table.

He was giving her his usual eye-crinkle and if it weren't for the large rather painful and ugly looking gash that spread over his torso, she would have a hard time fighting the smile that dared to take over her lips.

"I would appreciate if you would drop by every once in a while without me having to stitch you up, sensei." Sakura sighed as she moved forward to stand in front of her old teacher who, in return, merely pouted.

"You wound me Sakura-chan." He sighed, hissing right after as her glowing palm roamed over the rather large gash to check if he had any internal bleeding. "Who knows, maybe I get hurt as an excuse to see you."

At that, Sakura couldn't help but snort as she removed her hand from his torso and gently slapped his bulky shoulder. "I love you too sensei, but being cheesy won't save you from me stitching you up this time."

The pinkette turned around to get the needed utensils and smirked in content as she heard him let out an exasperated sigh upon hearing her words.

"Oh well, it was worth a try." Kakashi muttered, glaring at the rather big needle in hope of getting it to disappear by doing so.

He hated needles just as much as he hated hospitals, and if it weren't for the damn itch that he couldn't get rid of no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't even be here in the first place. So to say that he wasn't looking forward to meeting Sakura today was nothing but the truth because his favorite student was known for taking her sweet little time stitching him up as some sort of payment for not seeking her out earlier.

To be fair, he really didn't visit her that often lately and after what had happened to her in Suna, he suddenly became painfully aware of that.

Of course he knew that there was always a risk of the three of them not returning from a mission, regardless of how skilled they were and yet, ever since he heard the news about Sakura he felt a heavy burden settle on his heart that increased whenever he caught sight of her.

If it weren't for Itachi, Sakura wouldn't even be standing in front of him right now and somehow, this mere reminder eased his aversion towards the needle in the pinkette's grip.

That still didn't mean that it made the pain any less annoying, though.

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence as Sakura started, Kakashi's eye fixed on the rather messy bun of pink hair atop of her head. Sakura, of course, didn't fail to notice his rather intense stare and briefly glanced upwards with a small smile.

"Is there anything stuck in my hair that I wasn't aware of?" She joked, knowing fully well that even though her hair looked like a mess, there was nothing in it.

Kakashi in return gave her his usual smile and affectionately ruffled her hair. "Ah Sakura-chan, you are still as attentive as you were as a little girl." He dramatically sighed.

"I was anything but attentive. Rather than that I was an oblivious, love-sick, stubborn little brat." Sakura corrected him, snorting as she added, "Then again, I am still quite stubborn."

Kakashi hummed in agreement. "Ah yes, you are really hot-headed, stubborn and got quite the temper Sakura-chan. How do the two of you get along anyways?"

At the unexpected mentioning of Itachi, Sakura dug the needle a little too hard into Kakashi's flesh, earning a sharp hiss from her former teacher.

Offering him a sheepish smile, the pinkette tried to find the right words to explain her current situation with the rather moody Uchiha- what was a pretty hard task if she were to be honest.

Her expression turned thoughtful as she took a cotton and gently patted it on the small part of the gash that started to bleed again, if only slightly.

"Well admittedly, I was having a hard time when I first started off as his advisor." She started, trying her best to sound as nonchalant as she could. "He was quite a jerk and nothing like the polite boy that I remembered him to be from the times that I managed to catch a glimpse of him whenever we visited Sasuke, but it's gotten somewhat more bearable after some time has passed."

Kakashi merely nodded, having already expected his student to have her troubles getting along with the Uchiha heir. "Itachi always was a rather reserved boy and hard to read, unlike Sasuke."

"They really are different." Sakura agreed, a small smile forming on her lips as she thought back to their last conversation two week ago. Itachi had given her two weeks off to fully recover before they would officially start their training session and since these two weeks were over today and they would have their first training session this evening, she was in quite a good mood.

"I don't like that look in your eyes Sakura-chan, it means trouble." Kakashi remarked, curiosity sparkling in his gray eyes as he eyed his former student in wonder. "You know that killing the Hokage who, may I add, also is the heir to the Uchiha clan _and_ a former Anbu member is a rather stupid idea that I cannot and won't support as both a loyal citizen of Konoha and your friend, right?"

The pinkette chuckled as she run a finger along Kakashi's freshly stitched gash, clearly content with the result before she put the needle aside and removed her gloves. "Rest assured Kakashi-sensei, regardless of how much he drives me to my wits end, I know that deep, deep, _deep_ down our dear Hokage is a good person at heart."

Or so she hoped because after all, Itachi was beyond hard to read.

Kakashi remained silent as he put on his shirt while Sakura scribbled something onto the clipboard that she had previously brought with her, her brows knitted and lips pursed as a certain detail caught her eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei, you are due to get your yearly physical examination."

"I know."

"You don't plan on doing it anytime soon, are you?"

A shrug.

"Not really."

Just as she had expected. Sighing, Sakura put a loose strand of her hair behind her ear and shook her head before she looked over her shoulder to shoot him a disapproving frown.

"I'm letting you off the hook for now because I was the one who just treated you and didn't notice anything suspicious while I was stitching you up, but if I find out that you didn't get your physical examination within the next two months, I am going to personally drag you to the hospital after burning all of your _signed_ Icha Icha copies, got it?"

Sakura could practically see the shiver that crawled down Kakashi's spine at the last part and smirked in satisfaction as he gave her a curt nod an a lazy salute.

"Will do. Now, I think that I am half an hour late for my training session with Gai and Lee." Kakashi remembered as he scratched his mask-covered chin with a thoughtful expression before he gave her a wink and a wave. "Thanks for stitching me up Sakura."

Before she was able to do as much as utter a word, Kakahi poofed out of the room, leaving the pinkette to stare at where he was previously standing with a sigh.

Kakashi would never change.

She then grabbed her stuff and left to go to her next patient, a genin who somehow managed to twist his ankle during a D-rank mission and wouldn't stop crying, all the while wondering just what would expect her later on this day.

* * *

Despite of it being a sunny day in Konoha, Itachi was in anything but a good mood.

His day had already started off as annoyingly bad and he somehow knew that it would just get worse during the remainder of the day.

And it did.

A small part of him had hoped that during the training session with his stubborn little advisor this evening he would be able to let out some of his built up annoyance but since the higher ups and Sakura seemingly _loved_ to irritate him, he found himself on Training ground three, all alone waiting for a certain pinkette that was more than late.

Itachi usually was a very calm and patient man, but somehow Sakura always managed to achieve the impossible with him and that was something that he didn't like.

At all.

He couldn't recall a time when he was more annoyed than he was now, all thanks to her.

It was half an hour after his arrival that he caught sight of the pinkette running towards the training ground, cheeks rosy and her breathing slightly more uneven than usual.

She was dressed in her usual attire and had her pink hair tied up into what looked like a birds nest, emerald eyes hastily scanning the training field in hope of catching sight of him.

Before she arrived, Itachi had actually considered to simply ditch her and return to his office but the moment his blood red eyes settled on her guilty face, he knew that he didn't have the heart to do that.

If it was because of the way her eyes dimmed out of disappointment upon not seeing him or because of the mere fact that he bothered to take note of that, he didn't know.

"I'm really sorry for being late." She suddenly started as she caught her breath, surprising Itachi by doing so. He certainly didn't expect her to start spologizing for being late whilst standing in the middle of nowhere, not even knowing where he was or rather, if he was still there to begin with. "There was an emergency at the Hospital that I had to take care of and I-"

The kunai that suddenly came flying at her out of nowhere and that she managed to dodge last second cut her off mid-explanation as she glared into the direction that it came from.

With her eyes narrowed, she crossed her arms upon seeing Itachi casually jumping out of a tree, his blank face not giving anything away as he slowly walked towards her.

"You know, that's a pretty rude way to tell someone to shut up."

Even though it seemed like their training session didn't start yet, Sakura knew better than to let her guard down, especially around Itachi. She knew that if he wanted it to, the kunai would have at least grazed her cheek and that knowledge was enough for Sakura to mentally prepare herself for anything that she may be faced with.

Itachi lifted a brow at her remark, calculating eyes boring into her own as he stopped several meters in front of her.

"You're late."

"And you are grumpy." She observed, tilting her head aside as her emerald eyes took in the way his own narrowed the slightest of bits in return. He was displeased and even though she knew that it would probably do no good to annoy the Uchiha further, she couldn't help but wonder what was up with him this time. "What put you in such a bad mood?"

Of course she didn't expect him to answer but what she also didn't expect was him to suddenly disappear into thin air right in front of her very eyes just to reappear right behind her, a kunai placed on her bare throat as he used the other hand to grab her waist and hold her in place.

"Don't let it become a habit Haruno." He muttered, his grip on her waist tightening as he felt Sakura tense out of alarm beneath his grip. The pinkette remained silent for some moments, glancing up at the steadily darkening sky before she balled her loose hand into a tight fist.

He wanted to play? Then he would have to watch her win the game.

Sakura moved at a speed that surprised even herself. She gathered her chakra into her elbow and swiftly jerked it backwards before she twisted her right food so that she could use her other leg to swing it towards Itachi.

The Uchiha, however, already predicted her move and jumped a couple of feet backwards to avoid her kick, sparks of amusement dancing in his eyes. He knew better than to grab her leg mid-kick whilst she was using her additional chakra and instead, settled for the easier way by forming the all too familiar combination of seals at a pace that Sakura couldn't make out.

The pinkette also jumped backwards and went into her fighting stance as she channeled her chakra into her fists, eyes narrowed while her gaze was fixed on Itachi.

She was ready.

"Katon no jutsu!"

Sakura's eyes narrowed even further as she channeled her chakra into the soles of her feet and pushed herself off of the ground and into the air, the bright orange flames that filled her visions nibbling on her skin.

Sakura landed on a branch in one of the nearby trees before she jumped off as soon as Itachi directed the fire towards the tree and glanced up at the sky once more just to see that the sun has already set.

A sudden thought hit her and as soon as it did, she turned on her heels and darted deeper into the forest located on the training ground.

She knew that he wasn't fighting her to test her strength, but that he was fighting her so that they would understand each others style of fighting better and so that they could get used to it.

And that was pretty damn sly.

She was running at full speed, jumping from one tree to the other without making a sound. The brisk night air was hitting against her cheeks and the adrenaline that was pumping through her veins made her feel more alive than ever. It were moments like this that reminded her just what it meant to actually live, to just free your head of all worries and simply let out everything that you carried in your chest whilst pushing yourself to your limits.

That a certain Uchiha was chasing her just added to the thrill because let's be honest, what is there more dangerous than an Uchiha who is ready to fight you and could probably kill within mere seconds if he wanted to?

If this wasn't a challenge then Sakura didn't know what else would be.

Sakura knew that he was hot on her trail and that with his Sharingan activated, he could easily make her out in the dark but unbeknownst to him, that was exactly what she wanted.

Little did she know that Itachi was thinking along similar lines. Whereas he was in quite a bad mood before and actually considered to just straight out leave, he now found himself quite enjoying their little session so far.

He knew that she wasn't running from him and had something in mind, Sakura was no one to charge into things without thinking about it beforehand. And admittedly, he quite liked that he didn't know what his little advisor had in mind.

It was quite refreshing, _she_ was quite refreshing and he slowly started to think that maybe this was exactly what he needed every once in a while to get his mind off of all the serious things that plagued it.

Itachi watched how she jumped out of the last tree and stopped right in front of the lake that was placed in the middle of the clearing, facing him as he followed suit and moved to stand in front of her.

He always was the type to observe before he acted and for some reason, this time he found himself completely immersed by the sight in front of him. Sakura was standing right in front of him and he knew that if he would reach out, he could easily tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. The moonlight that was shining down on the lake reflected in her emerald eyes that were fearlessly gazing into his piercing scarlet ones while her entire body was calm.

And it was then that it actually sunk in.

"You don't fear me."

It wasn't a question, it was a fact that he subconsciously has been aware of for the past month. Sakura didn't seem to have expected his words though, the surprise that flashed in her eyes for the smallest of seconds giving her away in an instant.

Her expression then softened as she held his gaze, emerald eyes shining with sympathy as she took in the man in front of her. Despite of his blank face, she could easily make out the mixture of wonder as well as curiosity that was shining brightly in his eyes and for a moment, she felt like there actually was more to him than his cold and rude exterior.

The words left Sakura's lips before she could even think about them.

"I don't."

Her blunt confirmation only sparked Itachi's curiosity as he pursed his lips into a thin line and frowned ever so slightly. Why was it that everyone but her feared and respected him? He didn't know whether she was plain dumb or just naive and yet, a small of him found comfort in the fact that someone for a change didn't fear him.

That _she_ didn't fear him.

"It would do you well to do so, Sakura."

The way her name rolled off his lips in that damned deep velvet voice of his caused a shiver to run down the length of her spine that she instantly brushed off and blamed on the adrenaline.

Yeah, adrenaline.

Right.

They were fighting.

"I know, just like it would do you well not to underestimate me." She returned, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips as her emerald eyes sparked with determination as she shifted her weight onto her right foot, what didn't get unnoticed by Itachi.

He narrowed his eyes and waited, then-

A shift in the air behind him.

He moved.

A dozen of clones suddenly materialized themselves out of thin air, chakra channeled into their fists as they aimed for every part that Itachi had left uncovered.

Itachi easily dodged the first whilst ducking beneath the second, swinging his leg out to pull the thirds leg so that it lost its balance before he jumped into the air and grabbed the fourth by their shoulder and yanked them backwards.

He then grabbed his kunai with his free hand and swung it backwards, the weapon piercing straight through one of the clone's chest. His eyes darkened as he heard the familiar poofing sound, indicating that the clone had indeed vanished into thin air.

 _One down, eleven more to go._

He turned to his right, eyes locking with his next target as it came running straight towards him, but Itachi met it halfway, disappearing just as her fist was about to graze his cheek just to appear out of seemingly nowhere right behind her.

Itachi extended one leg and harshly sent her off flying into the opposite direction and as it collided with one of the trees, the clone also disappeared.

He didn't look back even once.

Now, where was Sakura hiding?

As he grabbed the next clone by its slim neck whilst he dodged the remaining ones attacks, he briefly took the time to roam the clearing.

She was close, he knew as much, and it seemed like the pinkette took her sweet time observing him and his fighting style.

Itachi sent five more kunai's flying before he was forced to let go of the bunshin's neck, it having tried to subtly break his wrist while he was busy roaming the clearing.

 _Three. Four._

"Come on _Hokage-sama_ , no genjutsus?"

Her teasing comment echoed through the clearing and reached his ear from every direction, meaning to mislead and distract him while he was fighting the remaining clones.

Too late did she realize her mistake and the moment she did, he had her pinned against the tree that had previously concealed her body.

Sakura didn't seem the least bit disappointed or surprised when she suddenly found herself caged between Itachi's rather lean body and the rough surface of the old tree, one hand keeping both of her wrists in an iron grip while he used his body weight to keep her from moving.

His breathing was not the least bit labored, she noticed as she tilted her chin upwards and locked eyes with surprisingly onyx instead of his red ones that were curiously gazing down at her.

He looked much like a little child that was fascinated with his new toy that he had received from his parents, curious, yet not knowing what to expect of it.

And that sufficed.

Her proud smirk was all warning that he received before she swiftly slid the sole of her feed up the tree trunk and roughly yanked her knee forwards, a mildly surprised huff escaping the Uchiha's lips as he felt her knee boring into his stomach.

It was enough to catch him off guard and Sakura used it to twist her body to the left, her wrists still in his hold before she channeled her chakra into the sole of her free leg and harshly kicked Itachi into his ribs.

Sure to say the crack that followed was pretty loud.

Itachi lost his hold on her but didn't tumble backwards like Sasuke and Naruto would if they were in his position. No, even though she had managed to probably break a rib or two, Itachi remained with his feet firmly planted on the ground, expression blank before he vanished in front of her very own eyes.

The eerie silence that followed upon his disappearance didn't last for more than two second before the sound of the sea suddenly parting and waves of water spiraling straight towards her broke it. Sakura instantly acted and jumped to the right, successfully dodging most of it even though she still managed to get pretty drenched.

As she landed back on the now wet ground, she barely had time to catch her breath before she felt the wind getting knocked out of her lungs and she was suddenly flung backwards towards the sea. The trees flew by in a blur and as she was nearing the water, she twisted so that her palms hit the surface of the water first and prevented her from being plunged right into the sea.

Sakura then focused on putting her chakra into her feet before she did a not so elegant back-flip and somehow managed to plant both of her feet onto the surface of the sea.

The ripples that she caused broke her reflection a second after she managed to catch a glimpse of her rather messy appearance. Her bun loosened sometime during their fight so that her damp bubblegum colored locks were now sticking on her back like glue, her face sporting some cuts and bruises and her stomach aching from Itachi's most recent kick.

Her emerald orbs scanned her surroundings and upon finding it empty, she tensed. Itachi was nowhere in sight, and if there was something that she learned during her time with the Uchiha was that this was certainly was not a good sign.

Cracking her knuckles, Sakura calmly remained standing on the water's surface and decided to do the most logical thing that anyone could do in this situation.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and waited.

 _Five._

 _Four._

 _Three._

 _Two._

 _One._

She knew exactly what expected her when she opened her eyes and when she did open them, she was not disappointed to see a handful of Itachi's standing right in front of her, all of them clad in his usual attire and wearing an amused smirk.

As she took in the sight, Sakura couldn't help but wonder how not even one strand of his black hair was out of place whereas she looked like she had been run over a dozen of times by a hoard of Naruto's Shadow Clones.

Damn the Uchiha and their genes.

"Only five?" Sakura inquired as she arched her brow, eyes gleaming with anticipation in the darkness of the night whereas Itachi's seemed to only darken in return, his smirk never leaving his lips.

"Let me assure you Haruno, I won't need any more to end this fight." He returned, his words holding the barest hint of a challenge that Sakura, of course, instantly picked up. "Though, I don't plan on fighting you for any longer."

Now that she didn't expect.

Sakura's confusion was clearly evident on her face as she eyed him in suspicion. Why would he suddenly refuse to continue their fight when it had only just started to get intense?

It didn't make any sense, unless-

Her eyes widened as she suddenly felt her every muscle tense. Well, she had walked straight into this one, even though it was her own fault to begin with since she provoked it into happening.

Then again, she didn't expect him to actually do it because Itachi was not one to listen to provocations.

Apparently, he made an exception.

Itachi knew that the realization dawned on her the second her body tensed. He watched her frown with dark, content-filled eyes before their gazes locked and she balled her fists, what only fueled his satisfaction.

She then lifted her hands and formed a series of familiar seals before she closed her eyes and pursed her lips into a thin line.

"Kai!"

She knew that it was in vain as much as he did. Whereas this was nothing near to his strongest genjutsu, it was still very hard for someone outside of the Uchiha clan to get out of it. Even Sasuke still had his troubles getting out of it to this very day and he doubted that if his very own brother who also possessed the Sharingan needed hours to get out of it, Sakura would probably take a day or even two.

Sakura of course also knew as much but refused to give up without a fight and thus, continued t form the seals in hope of getting the illusion to break even a little.

In vain.

She angrily blew a strand of her damp pink hair out of her face before she settled on glaring at the five Uchiha's in front of her that were seemingly taking pleasure in seeing her annoyed.

"It won't work." She unnecessarily stated, her shoulder sagging as she realized that no matter how hard she would try, she wouldn't get out of there without Itachi's help.

Itachi looked at her in a rather bored way. "I know."

Sakura rolled her eyes as his answer reached her ears before she exhaled. "So, you want me to learn how to get out of one of your genjutsus, I assume?"

Something flickered in his eyes. "Not today, no." He admitted as his clones abruptly vanished and left the two of them on their own once more.

They were standing opposite of one another, Sakura watching him with confusion filled eyes whereas Itachi kept his poker-face firmly in place.

Sakura arched her brow. "Then what's the point of luring me into one of your genjutsus?"

Itachi then also vanished right in front of her eyes into nothing but thin air, only fueling her confusion as she looked around in hope of catching a glimpse of him.

"You asked for it, didn't you Haruno?"

His velvet voice suddenly filled her mind, catching her off guard as her head whipped to her right, eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out where he had disappeared to.

She couldn't believe his words.

"You're not one to simply give into others orders or wished, Hokage-sama." She reminded him as she dared to take a step forwards and eventually settled to shift her eyes upwards at the beautiful, star-filled night sky.

"Aa." He agreed, his voice not escaping her mind and causing her entire body to tense with alarm. She suddenly felt vulnerable, like a stranger in her own body as he went on. "I can assure you that nothing has changed."

This only confused Sakura further. Just what the hell was he saying and where in Hokage's name had he wandered off to?

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt as she suddenly felt an icy gust of air hit her pale skin before she felt the genjutsu that she was trapped in fade into thin air. Nothing with the exception of the tenseness that has now also left her body has changed. Her surroundings were still the same with the only difference being that Itachi was casually leaning against a tree next to her, the Sharingan piercing through the darkness as his eyes were fixed on her.

"We have a lot to work on, Haruno." He spoke, giving her a once over as he took in her disheveled appearance. Even though she looked quite exhausted, he was surprised to find that her vibrant emerald eyes were wide awake and ever so attentively fixed on him even after their rather interesting fight.

Itachi watched her run a hand through her messy hair and found that even though she looked considerably more jiggered than she did before, she still didn't look bad at all.

Quite the opposite actually.

He instantly cut his line of thoughts short as her voice reached her keen hearing. "We do." Sakura instantly agreed. "It's going to take some time to get used to each others presence and to the fact that we are probably going to see each other more often than our families, but I guess that it's inevitable."

There was neither annoyance nor aversion in her words when she spoke them, lading Itachi to believe that she meant every word she said and whereas it was true, it was still hard to get used with the thought that he would see Sakura more often than he previously did.

They were the total opposite of each other and whereas he wondered if they would manage to get along outside of the battle ground where they could let out their pent up frustration and annoyance towards the other, he somehow had a feeling that this would not be the case with Sakura and that instead, there wouldn't be many troubles.

But only time would tell.

"Hn." He returned as he pushed himself off the tree, ignoring the way his ribs screamed in protest at the sudden movement. Broken ribs were nothing that he hadn't experienced before and even though he has also had worse than that, it still hurt, much to his annoyance.

That she managed to get a hit was surprising itself.

"You should go home and rest." Itachi continued. "I expect you at my office at dawn sharp so that we can discuss everything that we know so far about the ones that are targeting Konoha."

Sakura's expression turned serious within the split of a second as Itachi mentioned the previous attacks on Konoha's shinobi and gave him a curt nod. Someone was definitely targeting Konoha and if the Suna incident was anything to go by, they seemingly had a few certain people that they wanted to get to, even if it meant that they had to kill Konoha's shinobi and poison the Hokage's advisor.

"Of course, I'll be there on time."

She kept her eyes trained on Itachi and watched how he nodded, his expression devoid of any emotion as he walked past her without uttering another word and made his way back to what she assumed home.

Instead of following suit and going home as well, Sakura decided to stay in the clearing for some more minutes and to simply enjoy the silence and the beautiful sight of the star-filled sky.

She hugged herself as she turned to gaze onto the sea in front of her, a small frown etched on her expression as a sigh involuntarily passed her lips.

The incident that occurred in Suna still didn't leave her mind and every once in a while, the small voices in the back of her head would give her no rest and kept her awake by putting all kind of scenarios in her mind.

She suddenly was glad that at least the Itachi issue was solved and that they were somehow getting along now, even though they were still far from being anything close to friends.

They tolerated each other and accepted the situation that they were in, but that was about it.

Another sigh.

Well, maybe one day in the far, _far_ future she would be able to at least consider him something similar to a friend but then again, she wasn't even too sure if Itachi Uchiha _did_ friends.

A yawn escaped her lips and it was then that Sakura decided that she should probably stop all the useless thinking about her teammates brother and instead, make her way home and go to sleep.

She turned around and made her way out of the clearing and off the training ground, all the while unaware of the pair of crimson eyes that followed her every move.

* * *

A/N: I am back! I apologize for the delay, life has kept me quite busy lately and I honestly didn't even get five minutes to myself, what has taken quite a toll on me- hence the late update.

But I somehow managed to get this chapter done despite of the lack of time that I had to myself. So yayy me!

Also, can you believe that we hit over 100 reviews already?! Because I still can't! I am so thankful to every one of you who read, followed and reviewed this story so far! I can only repeat myself when I tell you that every one of your review motivates me to keep on writing, updating and to do my best to not disappoint you all!

I hope that you'll continue to show me your support by reviewing this chapter as well! Please tell me if you liked it, what you liked about it and what you think is going to happen next!:)

I love you. Every single one of you. Don't you dare forget that.

Love,

Sara.


	10. Kiku

CHAPTER 10- Kiku

Sakura was ripped out of her slumber by the noisy sound of her alarm clock. With a groan and still half-asleep, Sakura blindly reached out and turned the ever so annoying sound off before she rolled onto her left and forced her eyes to open.

It took some moments until her eyes adjusted to the darkness of her room and when they did, she was glad to see that it was still dark outside and that she still had some time to spare until she was supposed to meet Itachi at his office.

She took her sweet time with getting out of bed and decided that she still had enough time left to take a quick shower and thus, grabbed a fresh set of clothes and moved on to the bathroom.

The warm water that hit her tense body worked wonders on her still sore muscles and the pinkette savored the blissful feeling of the warm droplets of water that cascaded down her body for as long as she could before she had to get out of of the shower and get ready to meet Itachi.

As soon as she stepped out of the shower, she dried her body, got dressed and twisted her damp rosy hair into a braid in hope of looking at least somewhat decent before she glanced up at the mirror. Her face was slightly flushed from the shower that she just took, her hair didn't look as much of a mess as she had expected it to and the dark circles under her eyes were not as prominent as they were on most of the other days.

All in one, she was satisfied with the result for once. Her day seemed to start off pretty well and that was enough to instantly brighten her mood.

Humming, Sakura grabbed a bunch of files that Itachi had previously told her to read and put them into her backpack before she swung it over her shoulder and with one last glance at her apartment, left for the Hokage tower.

It didn't take her too long to reach her destination and within a matter of minutes she was standing in front of the familiar wooden doors of the Uchiha's office.

Sakura inhaled deeply before she lifted her arm and knocked on the door, the sound echoing through the empty hallway of the Hokage tower before she gently pushed the door open.

Just to find his office empty.

Now frowning, Sakura carefully scanned the office for any sign of the Uchiha or any traps that he may have planted somewhere in his office but much to her confusion, she couldn't find neither of the two after she examined the room for some more moments.

Sakura cautiously stepped inside and glanced out of the window to make sure that she was not too early or he simply too late, but the sight of the sun rising beneath the Hokage Monument swiftly proved that she was neither too late or too early and that Itachi was the one missing.

"Looking for the Hokage?"

Sakura's head whipped to the right at a speed that could have easily snapped her neck, surprised by the familiar voice that broke the silence that had previously filled the office.

Her body instantly relaxed at the sight that greeted her and Sakura fully turned around to face the familiar person that was leaning sideways against the door frame with a bored expression on their face.

Shikamaru.

"He told me to meet him here at dawn." She confirmed as she carefully studied Shikamaru's expression, not so sure if him being here was a good or bad sign.

Sakura has just recently heard from Ino that Itachi liked to send Shikamaru on some supposedly undercover and top secret errands that no one was supposed to get wind of because Shikamaru was known to rarely question anything as long as it didn't do anyone any harm. He would just do as told without mentioning it or anything related to whatever it was to anyone.

Shikamaru gave her a curt nod, his hands in his pockets and expression as bored as ever. "I know. There has been another incident last night involving three of our Jonin so he and the Clan Elders are holding an emergency meeting." He explained, and Sakura suddenly felt nauseous upon hearing the news.

Another attack?

"In what condition are they?" She questioned as she walked towards Shikamaru, whose expression turned grim as the two of them slowly exited the office and made their way down the hallway.

"One of them died at the scene, another one is currently in a coma and the third one managed to get away with only minor bruises but a nasty concussion." Shikamaru said, shaking his head. "Tsunade-sama is already examining the corpse and the two of us are supposed to meet her after we have interrogated the Jonin with the concussion."

Sakura nodded, relieved that Tsunade had already taken care of the three of them at the hospital as Shikamaru and her made their way out of the Hokage tower and towards the hospital.

"Who else knows that this has not been the first time something like this has happened?" Sakura asked as she turned to look at Shikamaru, who in return shrugged.

"Apparently more than the Hokage would like." He returned, the corners of his lips curling downwards. "He and Tsunade-sama are trying to keep the cause of their death on the low, but the clan elders are slowly getting suspicious and suspect that there is more to it- especially after you got poisoned, hence the sudden meeting."

Sakura sighed. She already expected Danzo and the rest of the council to get wind of what has happened, but now that the clan elders were also slowly starting to grow suspicious of the increasing amount of attacks on their Shinobi meant no good,especially for Itachi who, as the Hokage, had to take care of the mess whilst trying to keep everything on the low.

The pinkette inwardly winced, her heart going out for the Uchiha heir. That didn't sound like a fun and easy thing to do at all, especially since she knew how persistent and moody the clan elders could get once something didn't sit right with them.

Yes, even as a medic Sakura had to face some rather rude clan elders every once in a while- most of the time when one of the rather important clan members get seriously injured or harmed during one of their missions and Sakura was the lucky medic that was assigned to them.

"Do you think he is going to make it back in one piece?" Sakura wondered, the sarcasm that laced her voice not going unnoticed by her friend who in return smiled bitterly.

"Probably, but he is most likely going to be in one hell of a bad mood." He said, a small sigh following right after. "Such a drag."

Sakura smiled lightly, even though her thoughts were occupied with all kind of scenarios regarding the meeting. She just hoped that the clan elders wouldn't give him too much of a hard time and even though she knew that most of them liked Itachi and his way of handling Konoha, the ones who didn't would most likely use this very opportunity to give him a hard time and one hell of a headache.

She would have to visit the Hokage's office after she and Shikamaru interrogated the Jonin and talked to Tsunade to update him anyways, so she may as well check if was still alive and breathing.

The duo reached the hospital not too much later and after Sakura was told in which room the Jonin they were looking for was located in, they instantly made their way upstairs.

Having spent most of her time at the hospital for the past few years have taught her a lot and thanks to that, she could easily find any room or laboratory in her sleep if she needed to.

They were also fortunate that since it was still early in the morning, there weren't too many nurses rushing through the hallways that could bump into them because as annoying as it was, this was something that happened most of the time.

"We're here." Sakura informed her partner as they reached the room they were looking for. Two guards were placed in front of the door to prevent any outsiders from talking to the Jonin before his interrogation and upon seeing the familiar pink haired medic, they instantly gave her a low bow.

"Haruno-san, Tsunade-sama already informed us about your arrival." The right guard said, and Sakura shot him an amiable smile. She was quite familiar with the guards since it was mostly the two of them that got assigned to guard patients that were either a threat to the others or returned from a mission and needed to get interrogated before they'd get released, like this time.

She had told them dozen of times that they could simply call her by her name since she preferred it, but they wouldn't budge no matter how hard she tried.

"Thanks Shizuro, Kaito." She gave each of them a respective nod. "We won't take too long. I'll make sure to send someone to inform you about the durance of his guarded stay after I have talked to Tsunade." Sakura assured them, and they both simultaneously nodded in return.

"Understood."

Sakura glanced at Shikamaru who was already leaning against the opposite wall and watched their little exchange with a bored expression before she turned to the door and firmly knocked on its hard surface.

She waited for some moments, expecting the Jonin to call them inside but strangely, even after several minutes have passed there was nothing.

Sakura frowned before she turned her head to look at Kaito, who was standing to her right. "Is he still asleep?"

Kaito narrowed his eyes as he looked at Shizuro, who merely shook his head in return. "Yato-san was awake when I checked on him mere minutes before your arrival, Haruno-san."

Sakura's eyes narrowed before they fell on Shikamaru, who instantly pushed himself off the wall, expression hard as their eyes met.

The pinkette didn't waste any time and moved to open the door but as she tried to push it open, it didn't budge. She tried it for some more time to make sure that it wasn't just stuck but actually locked from the inside before she released the door and glanced at Shikamaru.

"It's locked from the inside, I can't get in." Sakura informed them as she backed off the door. She already had a feeling where this was going and so did Shikamaru.

"Locked?" Kaito asked, surprised. "Why would he suddenly lock himself in?"

Sakura merely cracked her knuckles in return as she channeled her chakra into her fists. "Looks like we'll have to look and find out."

With that, she rammed her fist into the door.

The poor door didn't last a chance and was harshly slammed against the opposite wall of the room the instant her knuckled graces its surface, catching Shizuro and Kaito by surprise.

Sakura didn't waste any time and was the first to go inside, instantly followed by Shikamaru and scanned the room. Just as she feareed, there was no sign of anyone being in the room.

Her eyes then slid over to the windows that were usually locked with a seal that served as a way of preventing the patients from escaping. Just medics knew how to unlock them but as her eyes settled on the right one, she was mildly surprised to find it wide open.

"When did you say was the last time you checked on him?" Sakura asked Kaito, who now looked slightly nervous whereas Shizuro was cursing under his breath.

"A couple of minutes ago, five at most."

Sakura nodded as she laid a hand on her forehead, trying to stay calm. If he was in his room mere minutes ago he couldn't have gotten far, especially since he probably still was somewhere at the hospital. In his state, he couldn't have climbed all the way down to the hospitals backyard and even if he miraculously managed to do so, he would have to cross it without getting noticed and then enter the emergency station and get through it in order to reach the hospitals entrance.

Just great. The only Jonin that survived was trying to escape the hospital for reasons unknown to them, and since that instantly made him a suspect they needed to find him before he could get away.

"He probably climbed through one of the open windows on the first, second or third floor." She swiftly informed them as she turned to Shikamaru. "Shika, you and I take the second and third floor. Shizuro, you take the first floor while Kaito goes and informs the secretaries at the entrance desk so that she keeps her eyes open and tells Tsunade and Shizune."

Kaito and Shizuro both gave her a small bow before she darted out of the room, both of them not wasting any time in fulfilling their assigned tasks.

"I'll take this floor." Shikamaru told her. "If you need any help, let me know."

Sakura shot him a grateful smile before she as well hurried off to the right while Shikamaru darted to the left. Sakura knew this hospital just as well as she knew her own home and if he was on the third floor like she suspected, she would find him.

The hospital had six floors in total, with the fifth and sixth holding either criminals who needed to get their injuries treated before their trials or the people who were a more complicated case and posed a threat to Konoha's citizens due to their mental state.

Shikamaru had filled her in on their loose patients data and thus, Sakura had a vague idea of what he looked like, but since he had no obvious injuries it would be harder to recognize him since a lot of people in Konoha had brown hair and brown eyes.

She would be damned if she would let him get away though.

Sakura rounded a corner and passed the elevator before she darted up the stairs, taking three at a time. Fortunately, this was nothing that she hadn't done before so she wasn't as exhausted as she should have been when she reached the top of the stairs.

Sakura looked around before she caught sight of a familiar nurse, Kiko, who was sitting behind the information desk of the third floor.

"Kiko-san!" She called, the fake smile that she plastered on her face concealing her distress as she jogged to the desk where said female was sitting behind.

Kiko's head snapped up, her short blonde hair a stark contrast to her surprised brown eyes as she noticed Sakura.

"Haruno-san!" Kiko called with a smile. She clearly didn't expect Sakura but was still genuinely pleased to see her, if the way her eyes brightened was any indication. "How may I help you?"

For a moment, Sakura hesitated. Kiko was one of the innocent kind and was too naive and nice for her own good. Sakura instantly grew very fond of her and was very protective when it came to the girl in her late teens.

"We got a 708." Sakura informed her, her voice calm yet firm so that she wouldn't alarm the poor girl any further. She watched how Kiku's smile dimmed, concern flashing in her dark eyes for the briefest of moments before she bit the inside of her cheek and nodded.

Everyone who worked at the hospital knew what that code stood for and how they had to act if this situation were to occur, like now. That still didn't mean that everything went according to plan and that everyone was able to fulfill their part, but they tried to do so for most part.

"Got it." Kiko said, typing something away on the computer. "I will inform the staff and doctors on the third floor."

Sakura smiled, grateful that Kiko tried her best to stay composed. "Thanks Kiko. No one is allowed to leave the floor until Tsunade or I say so, alright?"

Kiko mutely inclined her head, and Sakura offered her one last reassuring smile before she took off into the first hallway.

The white corridors were empty and silent as she hurried through them. Sakura used her chakra to scan the rooms without entering them, trying to find any chakra signature that may be out of place. She knew that he could have masked his chakra and hid in a room that was occupied with others, but their signatures would be distraught and instantly give their unwanted visitor away.

Sakura continued to hurry through the hallway and spent the following minutes looking everywhere for the Jonin but so far, she was unable to find him. It was when she reached the end of the second floor that she muttered a string of cursed under her breath, her expression grim as she turned on her heel and rushed back through the corridor.

It didn't look like Yato was on the third floor, so she had to tell Kiko that it was all clear and needed to hurry downstairs afterwards to help the rest in finding him before he could escape.

There was a small nagging voice in the back of her head that told her to stay alarmed nonetheless and the feeling in her gut warned her of upcoming danger but now matter how much she looked for him, she simply couldn't find him.

It was when she was halfway through the second floor on her way back when she felt a familiar chakra signature close to the information desk waver in an unsteady rhythm, forcing Sakura to an abrupt halt.

Her heart dropped.

Oh _hell_ no.

Sakura instantly channeled her chakra into the soles of her feet and run towards the information desk as fast as she could, the concern that washed over her body sending a shiver down her back.

In a matter of seconds, Sakura reached her destination.

Standing in front of the information desk was who she presumed Yato, if the crazed look he wore and the messy brown hair was anything to go by. Yato's skin was pale and his pupils were dilated while the hand that was holding the syringe was shaking terribly, what was not a good sign. He was holding a clearly frightened Kiko in a choke hold with the syringe pointed at her neck, the poor girl shaking while silent tears streamed down her face.

Sakura knew that she had to options. The first one was to use a shadow clone and attack him from behind while she would try to get him release Kiku and knock him unconscious, what would prove to be a hard task given the state he was in.

The second option was to try to reason with him and whereas she had no idea if that method would work on him, she had to at least try to get him to calm down.

Besides, if option two didn't work she could always switch to option one anyways so in the end, she went for the second one.

"Yato-san, my name is Sakura Haruno and I am the one who you were supposed to meet up with." She started off, her voice calm yet firm so that she would not scare him away. "I would like to talk to you."

Yato visibly flinched as Sakura spoke his name and if anything, pulled Kiko even tighter towards him, earning a yelp from the blonde as her frightened brown eyes silently begged Sakura to help her.

"I know who you are!" Yato snarled, his voice rough and breathing uneven. "I won't tell you anything! You'll just make me end up like them and betray me after everything we have done for this village!"

Well that took an interesting twist really fast.

Sakura took a small step closer, confusion flashing in her eyes as she steadily held his gaze. "So Konoha betrayed you." She stated, her eyes flickering to Kiko for the briefest of moments before they settled back on Yato. "Why would Konoha betray a Jonin who has been nothing but a loyal Shinobi for his entire life?"

Yato's hand on the syringe tightened as he threw his head back and let out a dry, rasped laugh. "You know nothing about Konoha girl." He hissed, the tip of the syringe now gracing Kiko's skin, who in return let out a soft whimper. "They were right all along. Because of you I had to watch my teammates die and because of you I will be next if I don't leave as long as I can, so don't you dare come any closer or I swear that she'll die by my hand this very instant!"

Sakura knew that she had to act fast if she wanted both Kiko to get out of this unharmed and Yato knocked out cold so that he wouldn't go anywhere but unfortunately, it didn't seem like she would get any help from anyone on the floor anytime soon.

All of them either pointedly decided not to get involved in any of this or brushed it off as just another patient causing a fuss and whereas Sakura was glad that the other stayed out of harms way since she didn't want anyone to unnecessarily get endangered, she would have appreciated a little help.

Looked like this she was on her own and since asking him about the incident itself didn't seem to work, she tried another approach.

"We were able to save one of your teammates Yato." Sakura told him, her eyes narrowing as she took in the way Yato's entire body stiffened at her words. How come that he didn't know that? "What should we tell her when she wakes up and asks for you? You are her teammate and she'll need you when she wakes up, Yato-san. She wouldn't survive loosing both of her teammates."

Sakura's words seemed to have some sort of influence on him because Yato, for a moment, seemed conflicted. He lowered the syringe ever so slightly, guilt clouding his eyes as he thought back to his female teammate before his body started to shake.

"Shut up." Yato wheezed, a pained expression crossing his face as he tightened his hold on Kiku."Just shut up! You know nothing, I'll be the next one they'll get just because of all of you!"

The fright in his eyes and the desperation and fear in his voice chilled Sakura to the very bone.

Her heart dropped into her stomach upon hearing his words and even though she didn't know what had happened to him and his team on their mission to put him into such a state, it seemed like he was convinced that Konoha was somehow involved in the death of his teammate. Sakura highly doubted that this was the case, but she knew that this wasn't the right time to think about that.

He was nowhere near stable and the syringe that he had still pointed at Kiko's neck was shaking to a point where he could still hurt her, intentionally or not, so she forced her body forwards and channeled her chakra into her palms.

Sakura knew that she had to act quickly.

She darted forwards as fast as she could and the second she was in front of him, she grabbed his left forearm that he had wrapped around Kiko's neck, teared it off of the poor girl and used her chakra to push him a few meters backwards.

Kiko, now free, fell onto the ground and gasped for air as she hurriedly moved out of Sakura's way, who was trying her hardest to keep Yato restricted all by her own.

The medic had his arms twisted behind his back to restrict him but since Yato was taller and nowhere near sane at the moment, it was harder for Sakura to keep a tight grip on him, especially since he was a Jonin and easily knew how to get out of such a hold.

"Let me go!" The brunette roared as he thrashed from left to right in hope of getting Sakura's hold too loosen before he finally managed to free one of his arms.

Sakura gritted her teeth as she harshly rammed her elbow into his spine, causing him to stumble a few steps forwards but as she moved to grab the back of his neck he suddenly turned and in the next moment, a fist collided with her eye.

The impact caused Sakura to loosen her hold on his other arm as she staggered back because Yato seriously knew how to throw a punch.

A groan passed her lips as a wave of dizziness overcame her, the pounding of her head making it all worse. Even with her eyes closed she could feel Yato charge at her once more and this time, Sakura managed to dodge his fist before she forced her eyes open and swung her leg at him.

Yato, though, had reckoned her move and dodged it before he slammed his body against her, causing both of them to fall onto the ground.

Sakura gasped sharply at the sudden weight that kept her down and instantly tried to lift her knee, but his weight restricted her movements.

Then, she felt a sharp object being pointed at her neck that instantly made her freeze, emerald eyes glaring up at wide brown ones.

"Sakura-san!" She distinctly heard Kiko's frantic call, followed by a series of gasps and concerned murmurs. It seemed like the medics and patients have finally made an appearance and enjoyed the show.

Yato had both of her wrists locked in an iron grip behind her back and she knew that even if he were to free them somehow, he would ram the needle into her neck within the blink of an eye.

And that was something that she could live without.

"I am sorry, I really didn't want to do this, but I warned you." Yato muttered as he tightened the pressure on her wrists. "Konoha will have to pay sooner or later and in order to save my life, I'll have to take one of Konoha's."

Sakura gritted her teeth and knew that she had to free herself, _now,_ so she did the only thing she could think of.

She slammed her head against his.

The force of it Caused Yato to momentarily lose his sense of orientation and that was all Sakura needed in order to channel chakra into her arms and to pull them upwards so that she was able to knock the syringe out of his hand with her elbow.

She then used her body weight to push him off of her and ripped her arms out of his grip before she kicked the syringe away.

Sakura then used her chance to push him on his back and used her own weight to keep him on the ground, her hands shooting out to grab both of his arms so that she could immobilize him.

"Let me go!" Yato roared, sturggling against her grip as Sakura turned her head to glare at the small crowd that had formed itself in front of the hallway.

"What the hell are you waiting for? Get the tranquilizer!" She yelled, and a handful of medics instantly rushed away to get what Sakura needed.

The pinkette shifted her eyes back on the man under her who was still fighting against her with all his might. She couldn't help but pity him, despite of him almost killing her and wondered just what his eyes have witnessed in order to hold so much fright.

Fortunately for her, the nurses didn't take too long and returned with two syringes of tranquilizer before they rushed to aid Sakura in restricting Yato while she used her teeth to take off the lid on the needle.

Yato's eyes fell back on Sakura and for a moment, his eyes seemed to plead with her not to keep him here.

Sakura hesitated, but as much as she wanted to do nothing more than to let him go she knew that she couldn't.

"I am sorry, but this is the only way to keep you safe."

And with that, she rammed the needle into his upper arm. She watched how Yato tried to struggle some more before the drug entered his system and his eyes became hazy before they fell close.

With a sigh, Sakura moved off of Yato and remained seated on the ground next to him with a heavy heart. Several medics including Kiko were by her side in an instant, asking her if she was alright and if she was hurting anywhere but Sakura instantly brushed them off, assuring them that she was alright.

"Sakura!" She heard Shika call and not even a second later he was by her side, accompanied by Tsunade and Shizune.

"What is going on?" Tsunade bellowed, eyes burning as they shifted from medic to medic. It seemed like she already got wind of Yato's escape even though she was supposed to be at the other side of the hospital, examining the other Jonin's dead body but Sakura couldn't complain.

While two of the medics lifted Yato up and onto a stretcher so that they could move him to what Sakura suspected the fifth floor, the remaining medics scurried out of Tsunade's sight with the exception of Kiko, who remained standing next to Shizune with a dazed look on her face.

Shizune, already having a vague idea of what happened during their absence reached out to gently pull Sakura back onto her feet, the pinkette shooting her friend a grateful smile as Kiku decided to answer the fuming Godaime.

"Yato-san was holding me hostage and Haruno-san took care of him." She summarized, still slightly shaking even though she put her bravest face on.

Tsunade's eyes shifted to Sakura and the blonde instantly caught sight of the pinkettes bruising eye, what didn't go unnoticed by Sakura.

"I can see that." Tsunade grimly noted, clearly disappointed that Yato managed to get a hit on Sakura. The blonde then turned to look at Kiko and gently grabbed her chin, tilting it up so that she could have a close look at her face. "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

Kiko, clearly surprised, meekly shook her head while Tsunade examined her eyes. She seemed to be in shock but other than that she seemed fine, so Tsunade released her hold on the girl before she looked back at her former student.

"Are you sure that you're okay, Haruno? It looks like he landed quite a punch." Tsunade commented as she took in the sight of Sakura's steadily darkening eye.

Sakura offered her a bitter smile in return, the pounding of her eye steadily increasing. "Yeah, it's nothing that I can't handle."

Shikamaru wisely refrained from commenting on Sakura's bruised eye, knowing that if he did he may end up with one himself and instead, watched how Yato was being carried away.

"At least he didn't get away." He commented, earning a nod in agreement from the Godaime in return as her eyes followed his line of vision..

"Indeed. It would have been a pain to get him back and at least now we can still interrogate him." Tsunade said, her lips pursed before she lifted her hands and massaged her temples, clearly annoyed by everything that was going on. The situation itself was already messy enough but now with Yato's rather uncooperative behavior, they all knew that things would get only more complicated.

"Shizune, make sure that the medics, patients and nurses don't let anything slip." Tsunade ordered, before she turned to Sakura and Shikamaru, a stern expression on her face. "Shikamaru, you're free to go. Sakura, you're coming with me. There are some things we need to discuss."

* * *

"You don't seem particularly interested in discussing this rather important issue."

Itachi's brow ticked out of annoyance as the clan elders continued their little cat fight, clearly unbothered by his presence.

It was no surprise, to him at least. It was no secret that some of the clan elders weren't too fond of one another what, though, didn't mean that they should waste all of their time by fighting like little children and throwing underhanded comments back and forth.

When a messenger arrived at his doorstep in the early morning hours and he received the information that an emergency meeting would be held at dawn, he knew that he wouldn't get out of it until the evening, much to his displeasure.

He had plans and whereas he was able to postpone his meeting with his advisor thanks to Shikamaru, it didn't make the issue at hand any better at all.

There had been another attack on some of their shinobi and whereas it was understandable that there would be an emergency meeting because of that, wouldn't it make sense to actually talk about the issue at hand?

Of course he didn't plan on reminding the elders of the incident since he didn't want them to get too deeply involved in it so their little fight was appreciated, but annoying nonetheless.

"Talk for yourself." Another elder huffed, eyes narrowed. "I, at least, state my opinion regarding the issue at hand and try to solve it unlike you, who seemingly finds it more interesting to analyze the remaining clan elders and the amount of words each of them speak per hour, Hyuuga."

Itachi could practically see Hiashi fuming from where he was seated, even though the Hyuuga concealed his anger by an impassive mask.

"Calm down gentleman, shouldn't we discuss the matter at hand?" Another one interjected, his pale green eyes narrowed. "Another one of our men died and the remaining two are currently at the hospital and suffer under their injuries. Don't you think that things are slowly getting out of hand and that we should actually do something instead of sitting here?"

Itachi's dark eyes slid to the one who spoke these words, the Yamanaka elder who seemingly tried to stir the conversation back towards him. The other clan elders mumbled in agreement and whereas the Hyuuga didn't seem to pleased, he reluctantly agreed as well.

All eyes turned to Itachi who was seated at the top of the table, slouched forward with his elbows resting on the long tables surface and his hands interlaced in front of him. He remained silent for most of the meeting, letting the elders do most of the talking and only interjecting when he deemed it necessary. This time however, it looked like he would have to set the record straight.

"We are in the middle of the investigation and two of our best Shinobi are currently interrogating one of them as we speak." Itachi spoke, the authority that his deep velvet voice held being enough to make the Clan elders straighten in their seats. "We will find the ones responsible for the attacks and they'll be punished according to Konoha's law."

Most of the times, a statement such as this would suffice and the topic would instantly be dismissed but since the elders seemed to be in an exceptional good mood this day, they didn't let go of the matter as quickly as he would have liked them to.

Then it started.

"It's not the first time that our shinobi got attacked, especially in such a short time-span, Hokage-sama." The Inuzuka elder commented as he casually leaned back in his seat.

"The attacks are becoming more frequent." Another one agreed. "I think that we are not doing enough to protect our men."

 _You are not doing enough to protect our men._

The tension that previously filled the room only increased and Itachi, of course, instantly noticed the message that laid beneath, his eyes narrowing sharply in return. Their arguments were ridiculous, and he would make sure to let them know what he thought about them. They were trying to set him under pressure, to get any reaction out of him that may let them get through to him, but Itachi didn't become the Hokage for no reason.

Itachi was not afraid to put the elders back into place if he needed to and many failed to remember this rather important detail. He would not tolerate such behavior, especially when they not so subtly tried to put the blame for the most recent events on him.

"Every Shinobi and Kunoichi of Konoha is aware of the burden that they have to carry in order to protect our village." Itachi firmly reminded them, the steely edge that his voice held not going unnoticed by the others in this room. "They decide to become a Shinobi willingly and know that every breath they take may be their last. The only way we can properly protect them is by getting rid of any threat to Konoha and whilst we are working on ridding Konoha from all its enemies, it's not something that can be done overnight, as all of you are aware of."

Itachi made sure to get his point across and judging by the way the temperature palpably dropped after his words and everyone remained silent for the following minutes, it worked. Itachi never liked conflict and wanted to take care of anything swiftly and without causing a commotion but thanks to them, it seemed like this time, he would have a harder time doing so.

"As true as it is, it doesn't change the fact that we have to do something." This time it was his father, Fukagu, who spoke up. Itachi wasn't surprised, for he knew that his father liked to openly disagree with him every once in a while, like this time.

He had his arms crossed above his chest and wore a grim expression as he looked at the other clan elders. "Konoha and its citizens just as well as its Shinobi and kunoichi need to get properly protected. We have to get rid of everyone who poses a threat to Konoha in any sort as fast as we can, regardless of what it takes to achieve that."

Murmurs of agreement followed his fathers words right after, and Itachi refrained from narrowing his eyes. "As I mentioned before, we are already working on that." He once more reminded them, but it didn't seem convincing enough to a certain trio.

"But not fast enough." Danzo commented, his cunning eyes boring through his. "We have to take more drastic measures and should consider involving ROOT to take care of the problem. This way, we can at least be certain that they will be properly taken care of once and for all."

Itachi tensed at his suggestion and openly displayed his displeasure upon hearing Danzo's suggestion. He never held much of Danzo's puppets and didn't plan on involving them or Danzo for that matter in any way. Itachi would take care of it his way and without Danzo's rats anywhere close to his investigations.

"I agree." Homura said, his raspy voice echoing through the room. "This way, many lives of Konoha's citizens would be spared and both our Shinobi and the people living in Konoha would be safer."

The Uchiha heir didn't miss the way Danzo's eyes flashed with satisfaction as his fellow council member backed him up. Irritation filled Itachi as he tried his best to remain composed so he merely leaned back in his seat and placed his elbow on the armrest, putting his chin onto his fist as he openly eyed them with a disapproving frown.

"I won't let ROOT get involved." Itachi curtly refused. "Slaughtering everyone who may hold an aversion towards Konoha won't solve the problem either and would not make us any better than them."

"I agree." The Inuzuka elder once more spoke up. "I trust that the Hokage knows how to identify any possible threats to Konoha and take care of them without instantly slaughtering anyone who may hold a grudge against Konoha."

"Indeed." The elderly Akimichi woman also spoke up, shooting Itachi a warm smile. "All of us know how well our current Hokage has taken care of all the previous issues involving Konoha so I don't think that there is reason for any of us to worry about this one as well. Whereas it is true that the amount of attacks on our shinobi have increased, it's nothing that hadn't happened before and so far, it looks like he has the situation perfectly under control. I don't think that I need to remind you of the Sandaime's words, my dear friends."

Once again, Itachi was grateful to have Akimichi Aiko seated on his left. The Akimichi elder was an elderly woman who was not afraid to state her opinion, was known for her bluntness and rather thick skull and for some reason, she had taken a liking to Itachi and his way of handling Konoha after the second meeting or so. Maybe it was because of the fact that he was rather reserved in comparison to the others but then again, the fact she used to visit his mother once every week back then when he and Sasuke were still children may have played some part in it.

His eyes flickered to Aiko, duly acknowledging her support before he turned back to look at the elders once more, his mind set and his eyes filled with determination as he spoke his next words.

"I won't let anything harm Konoha's citizens or Shinobi if it can be prevented, this I promise you."

 _Not again._

* * *

It was late at night when a very conflicted and rather exhausted Sakura was standing in front of the Hokage's office. She just left the hospital and wanted nothing more than to fall into her bed and drift into a deep slumber, but after the hospitals incident she knew that she needed to see Itachi before she could even think about going to sleep.

Sakura lifted her hand to knock, kept it in the air for some moments before she let it fall back to her side, her heart troubled.

It was ridiculous and she didn't even know why she was hesitating, but she couldn't help it. She needed to talk to him if she wanted to get a good nights rest and even though she knew that it would hard to get anything out of the stubborn Uchiha, she needed to at least try.

"This is quite unlike you, Haruno."

Sakura slightly jumped in place as her head whipped to her right to see Uchiha Itachi leaning sideways against the wall behind her, his dark eyes boring into hers. It seemed like contrary to her expectations, he had just returned from the meeting and must have been standing there for quite some time, if the amused glint in his eyes was anything to go by.

The amused glint, however, faded the instant he caught sight of her bruised eye and was instead replaced by a spark of mild curiosity.

His eyes narrowed for the smallest of bits as he pushed himself off the wall and straightened, a light frown gracing his features as he took in the sight of his advisor troubled appearance.

Sakura suddenly felt very self-conscious under his burning, questioning stare cleared her throat as she tightened her hold on the bundle of paper that she was carrying. She would have already healed her eye if Tsunade hadn't forced her to tend the emergency cases for the past six hours straight, but it had slipped her mind after she was finally freed from the hospital and made her way to the Hokage Tower right after.

"You are troubled." Itachi observed, instantly noticing the way her body tensed after his observation. Her lips curled upwards into a small, sheepish smile as her shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. So much for trying to keep it discreet.

"Is it that obvious?"

Itachi was tempted so say that even a blind person could feel the uneasiness that radiated off her in waves but refrained from doing so and instead, merely lifted his brow in return.

Sakura, of course, instantly got the message and huffed out of amusement. "I wanted to talk to you about some things and judging by the dark circles under your eyes, it seems like I wasn't the only one who had a rough day."

This time, Itachi didn't fight the smirk that pulled at the corner of his lips. Even though Sakura had a blue eye and looked like she had spent the past hours at the hospital jumping from one surgery to another whilst wrestling with her patients for dear life, what was most likely the case, she still didn't fail to loose her sense of humor.

"I start to think that your day may have been more interesting than mine if your bruised eye is anything to go by." Itachi spoke as he walked past her to unlock the door of his office, causing Sakura to snort as she thought back to her rather eventful morning.

"Well, I doubt that one of the elders went all berserk on you and tried to kill you so chances are high that it was." Sakura muttered as she followed the Uchiha into the dark office and closed the door behind her with a soft click.

Itachi turned on the small lamp in the corner of his room, the dim light allowing Sakura to make out something in the dark as he sat down behind his desk.

Sakura dropped her backpack next to the desk, placed the bundle of paper on its surface and sat down on the seat opposite of him.

For a moment, there was only silence.

Itachi's eyes were fixed on her face that was barely illuminated by the dim light that filled the office and he caught himself looking at her bruised eye more often than he liked to admit.

Her hair was loosely pulled back into a low bun, two loose strands framing her face while her emerald eyes were fixed on the window behind him.

Itachi had to admit that he was surprised to find Sakura standing in front of his office, especially with a bruised eye. He didn't expect her to seek him out at this hour, but he couldn't say that it wasn't a pleasant surprise. Maybe a talk with his little brothers teammate was just what he needed after the rather exhausting meeting hat he had with the clan elders.

"I don't know where to start." Sakura suddenly confessed, a soft frown crossing her face as she struggled to find the right words. Itachi remained silent and gave Sakura all the time she needed to put her concerns and thoughts into words, what didn't go unnoticed by the pinkette who, of course, appreciated it.

"We have time." He reminded her, and Sakura's eyes shifted back to his as her lips tugged upwards into a small, yet grateful smile.

He found himself tempted to return it, but successfully managed to stop himself from doing so. Sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder just why it was that whenever Sakura was involved, he had to keep a tighter grip on the mask that he wore to keep his emotions hidden away from sight.

"Shikamaru and I went to the interrogate one of the two survivors." Sakura suddenly started off, causing his attention to instantly shift back to her. The smile that previously brightened up her face considerably dimmed as Yato's panic stricken face flashed in front of her eyes. "It didn't go too well."

"I can see that." Itachi mumbled, his eyes flickering to her bruised eye for the split of a moment before they caught hers once more. He already assumed that Sakura received her bruised eye from one of her patients, but he didn't expect one of their Jonin's to be the one who attacked her.

This was unsettling indeed.

"He tried to escape and even though I managed to catch him before he was able to do so, he said some things about the day of the incident that unsettled me." Sakura confessed, feeling how the burden on her chest was slowly starting to fade the more she told him. "About Konoha in particular."

By know she had gained Itachi's full attention, and she was very well aware of that. The Uchiha arched a dark brow, mildly surprised by her words as his calculating eyes never left hers.

Itachi couldn't say that a part of him, however small it was, didn't expect them but he had hoped that it wasn't the case.

At least not yet.

Sakura was clearly troubled by whatever the survivor told her and since it involved Konoha, her concerns were justified. That didn't mean that whatever he had told her wasn't true, though.

"What did he tell you?"

Sakura bit her lower lip and averted her eyes from his, fixing them back on the window instead. "He blamed Konoha on the attack. He said that Konoha betrayed him and his team and that because of that, his teammate had to die and he would be next if he wouldn't escape." She recalled, her eyes softening as she remembered the frightened look in his eye. "He was in a state of panic and was convinced that if he would stay, he would not survive to see the other day. You should have seen the look in his eyes, he was frightened to death."

Itachi's eyes softened for the smallest of bits as he took in the way Sakura clenched her fists on her lap, expression blank as her stormy eyes shifted back to him. She obviously felt conflicted after the incident, and he couldn't say that he blamed her.

"Tsunade told me that there was a chakra scalpel stuck in the corpses neck, what means that the ones who attacked Yato and his team must have been the same ones that killed the previous Anbu members and the shinobi that Shisui and his team recovered. I can't help but think that maybe there is some truth to Yato's words, however wrong that may sound." She continued, and Itachi pursed his lips into a thin line.

She was way too intelligent for her own good. Tsunade had always told him how Sakura was a very intelligent young woman and heavily relied on her gut feeling and emotions, but he never believed Sakura to go as far as to question Konoha, regardless of the circumstances.

She was entering dangerous territory by questioning Konoha, especially by openly doing so in front of him, the Hokage, but he had a feeling that she wasn't questioning Konoha the way others may.

Unfortunately, she had every reason to do so and Itachi had a feeling that he knew exactly where this was going.

"You think that Konoha is somehow involved in the deaths of our Shinobi."

Plain silence followed his statement and the Uchiha allowed Sakura to take her time in letting the weight that his words carry to carefully settle in.

"I don't think that they were killed on Konoha's, or more specifically your order." She carefully clarified, her brows furrowed. "I just think that there is more to Konoha than I am aware of."

Itachi stayed silent and eyed her for some more moments, unsure of how to respond. He wouldn't lie to her, but he wouldn't confirm her assumptions either.

The young woman in front of him was in a state of confusion and deserved answers, answers that only he had but was not ready to give. He didn't want her to know any more than she did right now, it was the only way to keep her out of trouble and harms way.

"There is no need for you to be concerned." Itachi assured her, instantly noticing the way her eyes darkened out of disappointment. "I can guarantee you that Konoha is not at fault for the deaths of our Shinobi."

"But you can not guarantee me that any of our men weren't somehow involved." She spoke, her voice having dropped a few octaves lower as her deep green eyes carefully studied Itachi's expression.

His lips were thinned and his eyes never left hers, but she didn't fail to notice the way his eyes were filled with a spark of regret upon hearing her words.

So she was right after all but for some reason, Itachi refused to tell her just what was going on.

She tried to keep her disappointment from showing.

"It's in your best interest not to get any further involved in this than you already are." Itachi told her, and Sakura's eyes instantly narrowed in return.

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" Sakura challenged, causing Itachi to mirror her expression. Her patience was slowly starting to grow thin and whereas she could understand Itachi's reasons for wanting to keep her in the dark, she was sick of being in the dark all the time.

Itachi knew that he couldn't keep her in the shadows for much longer, especially due to her position of his advisor, but that didn't mean that he liked it.

He could trust her, that wasn't the problem, and it was true that he did promise to involve her further into Konoha's business. This, however, was something far more complicated than that. He didn't want her to see the world the way he did, to witness the terrible things that he tried his best to keep hidden from all of them.

But it looked like there was no way around it after everything that happened so far, so he was left with very little choices.

"Please." She once more tried, the urgency that her eyes held heavily weighting down on his heart. "I would rather have it be you who tells me instead of some scalpel wielding killer."

In the end, she did have a valid point. It would be better if he answered her questions before someone else decided to make use of her uncertainty and would feed her lied, as it apparently was the case with their Jonin.

He guessed that in the end, he couldn't deny her this request and yielded.

"Meet me at Konoha's central library at sunset and I will answer all of your questions." His dark, velvet voice filled his office, much to the surprise of the pinkette. He hoped that he wouldn't come to regret his decision in the future, but when he saw the way Sakura's eyes brightened upon hearing his words, he had a feeling that he wouldn't.

"Really?" She asked, surprised at his sudden willingness to cooperate. Whereas she was more than happy to hear that he would finally tell her everything that she wanted to know, she couldn't help but suddenly feel guilty into pressuring him into telling her. "I don't want to force you."

Itachi couldn't help but eye the woman sitting in front of him in wonder. One moment she looked ready to throw a tantrum and the next she looked like a guilty puppy that got caught stealing some of the treats without its owners permission.

Sakura continued to talk about how she just wanted to know the basics and didn't need to know everything if he didn't want to tell her and as amusing it was to watch her babble, Itachi knew that she would never stop on her own, so he did the first thing that came to his mind.

Itachi reached out and gently tapped her forehead with his index and middle finger, his dark eyes taking in the way her eyes widened out of surprise at the sudden contact.

No words were needed to be said in order for her to understand the underlining message of his action and before Sakura could help herself, her lips curled upwards into a soft, genuine smile.

"Thank you." She mumbled, happy that he was finally willing to share some of his burden with her. She didn't know if he realized how much it meant to her that he finally decided to more or less willingly involve her, but she had a feeling that he knew without having her tell him.

She appreciated it and maybe, this was the first step into the right direction that the two of them needed to take.

Sakura didn't know if it was because of the lightning in the room, but she could have sworn that his eyes softened the slightest of bits at the sight of her smile. His fingers, contrary to her expectations were warm as they slowly moved down from her forehead to trace her bruised eye, leaving her immobilized.

Her traitorous heart fluttered at the small caress even though she tried her hardest not to be affected by his touch.

When his thumb reached the outer corner of her eye and the most painful part of the swelling however, Sakura winced ever so slightly. Itachi frowned, clearly displeased that he had hurt her even if he had done so unintentionally, moved his thumb to rest on her lower cheek instead.

"I want you to have it healed until tomorrow."

Sakura tried her best not to get too affected by the intensity by his stare and eyed him in silent wonder. As touching as his demand was, she couldn't allow herself to get weak in front of him. Doing so would only result in him thinking that he got the upper hand and that was something that Sakura certainly didn't want.

"I may be your advisor, but don't forget that I don't like to get ordered around, Uchiha." She softly retorted, and judging by the way Itachi's eyes brightened with content at her answer he had already expected her to say something like that.

Damn Itachi and his perceptiveness.

He hummed lowly as he regarded her for some more moments, head tilted ever so slightly to the right. "Then you will have to get used to it, Haruno, because whether you like it or not, it looks like we'll have to spend quite some time with each other during the next weeks."

His words had the wanted effect and only fueled the burning fire in Sakura's eyes as she merely huffed, trying her best to keep her amused smile from showing. "I may not know what bad I have done in my past life to deserve this rather cruel fate, but I guess that there is no way around it as your advisor, Uchiha."

Neither of the two was willing to break their locked gazes, both the stubbornness and pride preventing them from doing so. Emerald clashed with onyx in a fight of dominance and if it weren't for the sudden knock on Itachi's office door, Sakura was sure that they would have spent the next hour sitting in front of each other whilst doing nothing but stare at one another in hope of getting the other to avert their eyes first.

Itachi, even though he took his sweet time in doing so, released her and leaned back in his seat. Sakura frowned ever so slightly as she noticed that Itachi's face was once more blank, no trace of his former smirk left as his dark eyes shifted to the door behind her.

She would make sure to find out more about this enigma called Itachi whether he liked it or not but for now, she was satisfied with the current progress that they were making.

"Enter."

Sakura straightened in her seat and looked over her shoulder just in time to see her teammate enter the office, seemingly not surprised to find Sakura in his brothers office this late at night.

"Nii-san." He greeted his brother, who offered him a nod of acknowledgment in return before his eyes slid to his pink haired teammate, who instantly shot him a smile. "Sakura."

"Sasuke." Sakura returned, pleasantly surprised by her raven haired teammates arrival. "What are you doing here this late?"

Sasuke leaned with his back against the now closed door as his eyes shifted from Sakura to Itachi, before they fell back on the former and he spoke. "You weren't at the hospital or at home, so I figured you'd be here."

Sakura didn't miss the hidden message and felt her heart warm up upon hearing his words. It was true that she hadn't seen her teammates for most of the past week and now, she suddenly felt guilty for not dropping by and checking on them earlier. It was just that she has been so busy lately that she didn't find the time to do so, but it looked like she would have to change that.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to worry you two." She said, guilt clouding her green eyes before she turned her head back to look at Itachi, who had his eyes fixed on Sasuke. "But I think that we were done here anyways."

This time, Itachi's gaze shifted back to her and as soon as their eyes met, Sakura offered him a small, triumphant smile. Itachi arched his brow at the pinkette in front of him and watched her with calculating, onyx eyes before he gave her a curt nod.

"Hn."

He then watched her stand up and grab her backpack before she walked to his brothers side, who had his gaze locked on Itachi. A mildly confused frown graced his features after he watched his brothers and Sakura's little exchange but he knew better than to comment on it, so he didn't.

"Ready?" Sakura asked Sasuke, who nodded and opened the door for her. Sakura turned around to shoot Itachi one last smile before she exited the office, closely followed by Sasuke who closed the door behind him without glancing back even once.

Sakura didn't mind Sasuke's little interruption and was glad to be able to spent more time with her teammate, even if he was only accompanying her back home.

She was looking forward to tomorrow and was curious as to what she would find out, but she hoped that whatever it was that Itachi would tell her wouldn't fully destroy the image that Sakura held of Konoha.

The walk back to her apartment was silent, and even though Sakura liked to talk to Sasuke despite of the fact that he was not much of a conversational person, this time she preferred the silence and his mere presence over their usual chit-chat.

Somewhere along the way, the two of them stumbled across Naruto, who just returned from having his probably fifth bowl of Ramen at Ichirakus today. The blonde, of course, instantly insisted on joining his teammate in walking Sakura back home and together, the trio made their way to Sakura's apartment.

After a short ten minute walk they have finally reached the familiar building but just as they reached the door, and Sakura lifted her hands to form the familiar set of seals that would unlock her door, a cold shiver run down the length of Sakura's spine.

She instantly paused, staring at the door with an unsettling feeling in her stomach as the warning bells in her head were ringing loud and clear.

Naruto stared at Sakura in confusion whereas Sasuke narrowed his eyes out of suspicion , instantly taking in the way Sakura's eyes were fixed on her door.

"What's wrong?" Naruto inquired, clearly not understanding why she was not completing the seal.

Sakura in return pressed her lips into a thin line and felt her heart skip a beat at the suddenly heavy feeling in her gut.

"Something is wrong." She mumbled, lowering her hands before she grabbed the doors handle and pressed it down. Just as she had feared, the door instantly budged and opened as she gave it a gentle push and since she was certain that she had locked the door when she had left her apartment this morning, that could only mean one thing.

"Someone was here."

She instantly felt her boys next to her stiffen upon hearing her words.

"What?" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes moving from Sakura to the door before the blonde's blue eyes narrowed and he moved to stand in front of her.

Sasuke instantly followed suit and moved to stand next to Naruto, one hand resting on the handle of his sword as the duo without any further delay made their way into Sakura's apartment, followed by the pinkette itself.

Once again, Sakura was glad to have her boys with her. Even though she was not scared, she knew that she wouldn't feel comfortable spending the night on her own whilst knowing that someone broke into her apartment the day before.

Whoever it was that managed to break the seal, would manage to break it once more if they wanted to and even though she doubted that the intruder was still in her apartment, she didn't know whether they left her a present or not.

And she didn't feel like sleeping with one eye open.

As the trio slowly made their way inside, they decided to part ways when they reached the living room to carefully examine every room. Naruto took care of the Kitchen whilst Sasuke went to check the laundry room and Sakura left for her bedroom.

At first sight, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. If it weren't for the broken seal, she probably wouldn't have even noticed that someone was inside her home but the mere fact that someone managed to trespass into her home was reason enough to make her feel uncomfortable in her own home.

When she entered the bedroom, she took her time in carefully analyzing the entire room. Her bedroom looked just like she had left it this morning, but when she took a step closer to her bed did her eye catch sight of something laying on the white sheets, its pale color easily blending in with the color of her blankets.

Sakura frowned as she took a step closer and reached out to pick the object up, and swiftly realized what kind of gift her intruder has left her.

A Kiku.

"Sasuke, Naruto, have a look at this." She called, her eyes never leaving the beautiful flower in her hand. It didn't take her teammate more than two seconds to be by her side and when their eyes fell on the flower that she was holding, they tensed.

Sasuke and Naruto both knew what this flower symbolized. They were forced to place them on too many caskets during their years of living as a Shinobi and the mere fact that someone had placed one of them on her bed spoke volumes.

Whoever broke into her home was threatening her.

"This bastard." Naruto cursed as his burning blue eyes were fixed on the innocent flower that rested in in Sakura's hand. "Just wait 'til I get my hands on him!"

Sasuke hummed in agreement whereas Sakura remained silent, the chill never left her body.

It was then that she realized just how right Itachi was. Maybe it was better for her not to get further involved in any of this.

But then again, it seemed like it was already too late for that.

* * *

A/N: Merry Christmas my loves!

I tried my best to finish this chapter before Christmas and let me tell you that I struggled quite a bit with this one, even though I am not quite sure myself why.

I hope that every one of you who celebrates Christmas is having great holidays!

I wanted to thank everyone who took their time and reviewed the previous chapter, favorited and followed this story and keeps on reading!

I sincerely hope that you liked this chapter. If you did, please tell me by leaving a review. Your kind words of encouragement are what keeps me going!

I promise that I will try my best to update before New Years Eve, so stay tuned!

Stay blessed, positive and healthy.

Love,

Sara.


	11. Storytime

CHAPTER 11- Story Time

Kakashi Hatake, a name that was known to every citizen of Konoha and was always associated with his love for Jiraya's Icha Icha Series, his incomparable ninja skills or his habit of being late to, well, almost anything.

The ones who did know him well enough knew that he never showed up on time, regardless of how important the appointment was but so far, not one of them left before the Copy-Nin belatedly made his dramatic entrance followed by the most ridiculous excuses he could think of either.

So one can imagine Kakashi's surprise when he finally reached training ground three around two and a half hours late just to find that his team, the people that came closest to what he would consider family, had cruelly abandoned him for the first time ever since he took them under his wing.

Safe to say, Kakashi didn't know how to react.

At first, he simply stood there, unsure of what to do but after some moments have passed and he finally realized that his team was absent, he moved.

After he had roamed the entire training ground to ensure that they really weren't there, Kakashi, still confused, made his way towards the only place he could think of them being at this early hour.

Sakura's apartment.

Being the sneaky ninja he was, Kakashi masked his chakra and broke the seal that Sakura used to prevent outsiders from entering within a matter of seconds before he silently made his way inside.

Once inside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Her living room looked just like it always did and he didn't feel any foreign chakra signature either, indicating that there was no intruder or possible threat in her apartment. One thing what his keen ears instantly picked up however, was the sound of rather loud snoring coming from the door to his left, where Sakura's bedroom was located at.

Kakashi didn't need to go in there to know what, or rather who caused this rather beastly sound. He liked to believe that after all the years that he spent with his team, he would manage to pick up Naruto's snoring between all of Konoha's snores combined.

Still, Kakashi never passed a chance to see his kids in their most vulnerable state and thus, gently and whilst trying not to make any sound, pushed the door of Sakura's bedroom open.

Ah yes, the sight that greeted him was a familiar one that he had encountered many times before and yet, it was one of his favorites. There they were, all three of them sprawled across Sakura's bed, sound asleep and oblivious to their teachers presence.

Or to the fact that they overslept.

A smile tugged at the corner of his masked lips as he leaned sideways against the doorway and took in the scene before him.

Sakura was laying in the middle of her bed, her head leaning on Sasuke's shoulder, loose pink strands of hair framed her sleeping face that was scrunched up into a small frown.

Half of Sakura's ridiculously large blanket covered Sakura and Sasuke up until their waist, the usually broody Uchiha's expression relaxed. His arm was lazily thrown over his eyes while Naruto was laying on his back to Sakura's right, mouth wide open and sprawled across the remaining part of the bed with the other half of the blankets tangled around his body.

Kakashi's expression softened at the sight and a small sigh escaped his lips. The memories of the days when the three of them were training in the academy were still fresh in his mind and it was one of the rare times when his former students and current teammates face held a look of pure innocence- innocence that Kakashi wanted to protect but eventually, failed to do so.

He and his team were often praised for their excellent bond and close friendship but what all of these people didn't know was what every single one of them went through, be it alone or together as a team.

The life of a shinobi was a very cold and harsh one, Kakashi knew this best, but he and his team still never failed to move on and motivate each other to keep on going, regardless of what happened.

As adorable a they looked, Kakashi knew that they had to wake them and pushed himself off of the doorway before he moved to stand next to the bed.

He then crossed his arms above his chest and within the split of a second, allowed the mask that concealed his chakra to fade into thin air.

The instant he did, he felt every three of them tense in their sleep.

Naruto was the first one to react and abruptly stopped his snoring with a grunt, which was swiftly followed by a groan before he turned around to lay on his side, inwardly praying that he was still sleeping and that the Kakashi standing there wasn't real.

In vain, so it seemed.

The blonde yanked the blanket with him in the process of turning, causing it to slide off of Sakura and Sasuke, what caused the former to let out a small – and in Kakashi's opinion rather pathetic- whine while Sasuke let out a deep breath, unmoving.

Kakashi lifted a brow.

It seemed like his students really did get lazy after all.

"Well, well, well, would you look at that." Kakashi drawled, tapping his feet on the wooden ground of Sakura's apartment. "Here I was, worried sick and thinking that my beloved students have once more gotten themselves into trouble just to find them snuggled up to each in this big and cozy bed while they should be sweating and cursing me for making them train at this early hour instead. Funny how life goes sometimes, don't you think?"

Sakura let out a muffled groan as she reluctantly forced herself to sit up, exhausted emerald eyes falling onto the form of her teacher before she run a hand over her face and stood up, wordlessly walking straight past him towards the washroom before she locked herself in.

A grumpy Sakura was no news to Kakashi but when the silver haired copy-nin caught sight of the dark rings under Sasuke's eyes who, by now, also managed to sit up and pushed Naruto off the bed as an attempt to wake him, he already had a feeling that something rather unpleasant had happened prior to his arrival.

"Oi! You damn son of-"

"Naruto, no cursing your teammate this early in the morning."

Naruto's attention snapped to Kakashi the instant his voice echoed through the room and a sheepish grin made its way on his lips.

Sasuke merely huffed as he as well moved to stand up and straightened his clothes that consisted of a black Shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back and knee-length loose black shorts.

He and Naruto dressed into more comfortable clothes last night after they decided to stay with their teammate and since they always left a spare case of clothes at Sakura's for days like this one, it came especially convenient.

"Now, mind telling me why you three ditched our training session?" Kakashi inquired, slowly starting to grow annoyed. They didn't seem the least bit sorry about ditching him nor did it look like they actually cared, and that was very unlike them.

Naruto's blue eyes shot to Sasuke, what the Uchiha didn't fail to notice, and thus he decided to do the explaining.

Sasuke moved to Sakura's nightstand, Kakashi's eyes following his every move as the raven-haired boy suddenly held a white Kiku in his hand.

"Someone broke into Sakura's home last night and left this." Sasuke curtly explained, and Kakashi's eyes instantly narrowed.

Kakashi wordlessly extended his hand to take it from Sasuke in order to properly examine the little gift that was left for Sakura. Sasuke handed it to his teacher without any hesitation and once in his hand, the silver-haired Nin eyed it carefully for any sign of jutsu or poison.

"I also looked for poison or any sign of a jutsu on it, but there is none." Sasuke told him as he crossed his arms above his chest. "Whoever it was that placed it on her bed did it as a warning."

"Hm." Kakashi hummed, eyes still fixed on the flower. He knew that Sakura had gained quite a reputation for herself and that now with being Itachi's right-hand man, she would be a very desired target for both Konoha's enemies and the ones who held a grudge against Itachi, if the Suna incident was anything to go by.

Just then they heard the bathroom door open and mere seconds later, Sakura, now all freshened up and dressed into a fresh set of clothes, came walking into the bedroom where the team was still gathered in. The pinkette offered Kakashi a smile as she once more walked past him to do the bed, her eyes falling onto the flower in her sensei's hand as she moved to hold the blankets.

"Looks like they already told you about the gift that I received last night." Sakura said before she continued to make the bed, seemingly not the least bit bothered about it.

Kakashi moved to place the flower back on her nightstand while Sasuke left to wash up next. "They did. Is that the only reason you ditched training?"

Naruto snorted from where he was seated on the floor next to Sakura's bed. "Wow sensei, are you sulking?"

Kakashi rolled his visible eye. Leave it to Naruto to take things out of context.

He was _so_ not sulking.

A light chuckle escaped Sakura's lips as she made the last finishing touches to her bed before she left her bedroom, Kakashi and Naruto following behind.

"Sasuke was summoned for some Uchiha meeting and Tsunade send a messenger for me because I will be needed in the hospital in-" Her eyes slid to the clock that was hanging on the wall of her living-room. "-one hour."

Kakashi hummed as they entered the kitchen, his eyes falling onto the blonde boy next to him who deliberately tried not to catch his eye.

"And what's your excuse?" Kakashi asked, causing Naruto to instantly scratch his neck as he met his teachers eyes.

"I, uh, have a very important meeting with this guy named Tama! He wants me to babysit his cat while he is out of town looking for, eh, herbs?" Naruto weakly improvised but the moment he ended his sentence and he caught sight of Kakashi's blank face, he knew that it was of no use.

"Aw come on Kakashi-sensei that's not fair!" Naruto protested as he sat down on the table, a pout on his lips. "Why am I the only one who has to go when all three of us were supposed to?"

A sigh escaped Kakashi's lips and in the next moment, Naruto was smacked upside his head.

The blonde yelped out of surprise and Sakura snorted out of amusement while she prepared breakfast.

"You should have seen it coming Naruto. What are you, a genin that you have to babysit some weird man's cat?" She teased, causing Naruto to groan.

"Come on Sakura-chan, whose side are you on?"

"Obviously not on yours, dobe." Sasuke stated as he as well made his way into the kitchen. Sakura rolled her eyes as she placed some sliced tomatoes on the table, followed by some more small dishes.

"What sides are there to take in a team?" Sakura asked as she sat down next to Kakashi and shot her teammates a stern glance as she picked up her chopsticks and pointed at the two of them. "It's going to be a long day for all of us so eat."

Naruto instantly dug in whereas Sasuke started off his breakfast by plopping a piece of sliced tomato into his mouth. Kakashi glanced at the petite yet dangerous pinkette next to him out of the corner of his eye before he affectionately rested his right hand on top of her head.

"Ah, looks like I really did teach you well." Kakashi stated, his visible eye crinkling. His heart warmed at the proud smile that Sakura offered him in return as she looked up at her old teacher and for a moment, Kakashi could have sworn that he saw the ten-year old Sakura look up at him.

"You should teach Naruto a thing or two as well. If his excuse is anything to go by, he really needs some training from you." She teased and Kakashi removed his hand from her head to scratch his masked chin in wonder.

"I'll have to consider it. Can't have him taint my spotless reputation with his lame excused now can I?" He returned and Naruto, who happened to overhear him as his bicker with Sasuke came to an end, instantly protested.

Sakura merely shook her head with a smile as she looked at her boys with an affectionate smile. These moments were the ones she treasured the most and felt most at ease at.

With them at her side, she had a feeling that she could take on everyone and everything that life may throw at her.

 _Although,_ She thought as a pair of red Sharingan eyes flashed in front of her eyes. _I still have to figure out what to make of him._

Sakura took a sip of the herbal tea that she previously prepared and all of sudden, last nights events flashed in front of her eyes.

" _I want you to have it healed until tomorrow."_

Sakura suddenly choked on her tea, resulting in her falling into a coughing fit and the rest of her team members to wonder what was up with their pink-haired teammate.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay?" Naruto's concerned yet surprised call echoed through the kitchen while Kakashi and Sasuke gently patted her back as an effort to stop her coughing.

Sakura merely waved her hand, trying to get enough air into her lungs as she placed her cup back on the table.

"I'm fine." Sakura croaked out, feeling the heat rise into her face. Whether it was because of the hot tea that she nearly choked on or the realization that _the_ Uchiha Itachi had actually caressed her cheek last night, that she could only guess.

Sasuke and Kakashi shared a silent look, neither of the two having even the smallest guess as to what could possible cause Sakura to choke on her tea but the duo eventually agreed to just let it slide.

Much to her relief.

Sakura, of course, already healed her bruised eye the night before and as she settled back to eating inwardly wondered just how her meeting with Itachi would go tonight.

He was unpredictable, and that was something that constantly set Sakura on edge. One day, he was cold and rude whereas the other, he seemed like his polite and reserved self.

It seemed like every Uchiha was odd in their own way, and Itachi didn't seem to be an exception.

"Weirdo." Sakura muttered under her breath as she took another sip of her tea, unaware of the three pair of eyes that were fixed on her.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed, his expression crunched up in a frown as he looked at his teammate in wonder. "Weirdo."

* * *

"I should personally break another rib of yours for not seeking medical treatment earlier, Uchiha."

Itachi's lips curled downwards. He was not in a good mood to begin with and it seemed like this would not change anytime soon.

It all started this morning when his mother caught him changing the bandage that was neatly wrapped around his ribs. The moment her dark eyes fell on the rather ugly looking bruise that covered his lower rib-cage all hell broke loose and not even an hour later he suddenly found himself in one of the Hospital's VIP rooms together with Tsunade and his mother, who insisted on accompanying him to ensure that he was actually going to get treated.

"You should consider yourself lucky, your broken rib didn't cause any major damage to your internal organs." Tsunade told him as she removed the stethoscope from his chest and scribbled something onto her clipboard. "Though I have to admit that I am curious as to who managed to break one of the great Uchiha Itachi's ribs."

"I totally forgot about that." Mikoto said, shooting her son a curious look. "Did you train with Kakashi-sensei?"

Tsunade snorted as she took in the way Itachi's expression turned the slightest bit bitter and instantly put two and two together. Looks like not only Itachi's rib but also his pride received quite the blow from one and the same person.

"I doubt that it was Kakashi, the two of them use similar fighting techniques. I believe that it was someone whom our dear Itachi may have underestimated a little for them to land such a hit on him.

Itachi didn't like the amused twinkle in Tsunade's eyes nor the way his mother shot her blonde-haired friend a questioning look.

He pursed his lips into an even thinner line. And once again he found himself stuck in such an annoying situation because of his advisor. It seemed like all the bad things that happened to him ever since she was assigned to be his advisor and right hand man were either caused by her or resulted in her getting tangled up in them.

Safe to say, he was anything but pleased by that.

"I can assure you that I am very well aware of when I need to seek medical treatment and when I am able to handle things myself." Itachi spoke, trying his best to keep his annoyance out of his voice.

Mikoto slapped Itachi on the shoulder, her expression turning stern. "Stop being sulky and consider yourself lucky that I am still being this calm young man."

Itachi's eyes fell on his mothers stern expression and he wordlessly lifted a brow. Itachi did not _sulk_.

Just when he was about to open his mouth to question his mothers intentions, a knock on the door prevented him from doing so.

If only he looked at Tsunade instead of the door the second before it opened, he would have been able to catch the devilish smirk that pulled on her lips.

"Come in." Tsunade called, and the moment the door opened Itachi wondered just what he had ever done in his life to be put in such a situation.

In walked Sakura, dressed in her white coat and usual attire. Her emerald eyes were fixed on the folder in her hand as it seemed, the pinkette hadn't bothered to check just who the patient that Tsunade treated was because if she did, he was certain that she would have made a straight U-Turn.

"Tsunade-shishou, Mai told me that you wanted to see-" Her emerald eyes snapped upwards to catch his annoyed onyx ones, and she instantly stopped dead in her tracks. "-me."

Confusion flashed in her eyes as she caught sight of a shirtless Itachi sitting on top of the examination table before they fell on his mother and her former teacher.

Whereas the first one seemed pleasantly surprised, the latter one pretended to innocently scribble something down onto her clipboard.

Safe to say, she was confused.

"Sakura-chan!" Mikoto exclaimed in delight, obviously pleased to see her and Sakura instantly mirrored her smile. "It's so good to see you again, dear!"

Sakura didn't miss the way Itachi's annoyance became even more evident in his eyes after his mothers warm greeting and Sakura shot him a questioning glance out of the corner of her eyes before she went on to properly greet Mikoto.

"Mikoto-san, what a pleasant surprise." Sakura said, genuinely pleased to see the Uchiha matriarch, though slightly suspicious of the circumstances that they met under. "What brings you here?"

Mikoto laid a hand on her sounds bare shoulder and Itachi unwillingly tensed under her touch, eyes never leaving Sakura's mildly curious expression.

"You see, my dear son over here thought that it would be a nice idea to hide his broken rib and almost got away with it if it weren't for me catching him while he was changing his bandage." Mikoto explained, tightening her grip on Itachi's shoulder.

Sakura, mildly amused, allowed her eyes to roam Itachi's uncovered torso until they fell on the ugly looking bruise that Mikoto had mentioned. It seemed as if whoever managed to land a hit on him managed really did manage to break a rib and even bruise another one or two and due to Itachi not getting them treated earlier, it looked even worse than it usually did.

He should be in greater pain that he seemed to be in, she knew that out of her own experience and yet he didn't even bat an eye.

"It looks quite painful." Sakura commented as she lifted her eyes and offered Itachi a curious look. "It's a surprise that you managed to hide it this well, Hokage-sama. Others would have probably already fainted after a couple of hours but judging by the discoloration, it's probably been a day or two ever since you got it broken."

Itachi didn't know whether she purposefully acted clueless or if she really didn't know that his broken rib was her own doing. She couldn't have possibly not noticed that she broke his rib during their little training session, especially since she was a high-level medic but judging by the way her curious eyes were still locked with his, it seemed like she really wasn't aware of what she had done.

"I told them the same." Tsunade commented as she offered Sakura the clipboard with Itachi's medical data, that Sakura wordlessly accepted. "If he waited some more days, our dear Hokage would have started to get problems with his breathing, if not even worse."

Sakura hummed as she skimmed through his file. Tsunade, of course, was right and even though she was already used to this kind of behavior from Kakashi, she never thought that Itachi held a similar aversion towards hospitals.

"I've experienced worse than a broken rib." Itachi stated, eyes moving from Sakura to Tsunade who in return lifted a daring brow at the young Uchiha heir.

"It doesn't matter. You'll have to get this treated and there is no way around it." Tsunade told him as she crossed her eyes over her chest. "Unfortunately, I have a rather tight schedule and an emergency poison extraction that I have to take care of, so Sakura is going to take care of your broken rib."

Both Sakura and Itachi's eyes snapped to Tsunade the moment she finished her sentence and Itachi could have sworn that he saw his mother's smile of approval out of the corner of his eye.

Great, just what he needed.

Tsunade's eyes moved from Sakura to Itachi, silently daring them to object and even though none of the two seemed too pleased by their current predicament, none of them dared to refuse.

The Godaime clapped her hands. "It's settled then. Mikoto-san, I'll have one of my Anbu escort you home while Sakura takes care of your stubborn son. Sakura, I trust you to take care of him and if you need anything, send Suki or Mai."

Mikoto gave Tsunade a nod and patted her sons shoulder before she moved to follow Tsunade out of the room. When she passed Sakura however, the dark-haired Uchiha rested a hand on Sakura's shoulder and offered her a grateful smile.

"Thank you." Mikoto said, her smile never fading. "If he misbehaves, you have my permission to break another rib or two."

Sakura couldn't help but smile upon hearing Mikoto's words and gave her a curt nod. "I'll keep that in mind. Have a safe trip home Mikoto-san."

Mikoto shot Itachi one last glare over her shoulder before she followed Tsunade out of the room, leaving Sakura and Itachi on their own.

A thick silence filled the room the moment Mikoto left the room and shut the door close. Sakura, aware of the way Itachi's displeased gaze was fixed on her, decided to simply get it over with so that she could get out of his hair as soon as possible.

She walked over to the desk to place the clipboard onto it before she pushed a button on the desk.

"Suki, I need you to prepare some anesthetics and a bandage." Sakura spoke before she released the button and turned around to put on a pair of rubber gloves.

As soon as she was ready, she turned around just in time to catch Itachi putting on his shirt. The pinkette, clearly not having expected that, shot the unbothered Uchiha a look of sheer disbelief.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Itachi, who just put on his shirt, considered to simply straight out ignore her presence and march right out of the room but in the end, he knew that they would have to see each other later that day so he decided against doing so.

"I'm leaving." He deadpanned as he stood up, ready to leave but Sakura was faster and moved to block his way with her own body.

"You're not going anywhere Uchiha." Sakura returned, expression hard as she lifted her head to properly glare at Itachi. Due to the height difference, she slightly needed to tilt her head upwards to meet his gaze but that didn't stop her from doing so. She knew that it probably made her look less intimidating since he was the one looking down at her but at that moment, she couldn't care less.

As long as he was the patient and she the medic, he would have to listen to her, whether he liked it or not.

Itachi glanced down at the pinkette, mildly irritated at Sakura's stubbornness. She obviously didn't plan on letting him go this easily and whereas he knew that he could simply use one of his jutsu, he knew that he wouldn't get too far considering the state that he was currently in.

He lifted a dark brow, lips pursed and expression blank as he caught Sakura's challenging eyes with his onyx ones. "If you know what's best for you, I would advise you to step aside Haruno."

Sakura frowned, her expression hardening as she huffed upon hearing Itachi's words. "If you know what's best for you Uchiha, I would advise you to stop your childish antics and to do as your doctor says."

Itachi's eyes suddenly flashed red and not a heartbeat later, Sakura was staring into a pair of crimson eyes that she was all too familiar with.

She could have sworn that the air around them gradually turned colder, the look in his eyes chilly enough to freeze her to death as he stared her down.

"Move."

His tone was low and yet deep enough to cause a shiver to run down Sakura's spine. His command was loud and clear and yet, Sakura knew that he was testing her and thus kept her eyes locked with his.

She wouldn't let herself be intimidated by Uchiha Itachi, not anymore.

"This is your last warning Uchiha." Sakura spoke, her voice having dropped a few octaves lower. "Sit down."

She knew that it took more than her rather weak warning to get Itachi to back down but what else was she to do? She couldn't possibly call his mother, nor could she chain him to the examination table so she was left with little choices.

Itachi kept his eyes locked with hers and looked for any sign of fear, the smallest waver in her guard or the tiniest hint of regret, but it seemed that it was in vain.

Sakura seemingly didn't plan on letting him go and even though he as well knew that he should let himself get treated now that he was at the hospital already, he didn't feel like giving in this easily.

In the end, he saw what he wanted to see and ever so slowly allowed the Sharingan fade out of existence. Itachi took one more look at Sakura's face, making sure that she took note of his displeasure before he moved to sit back down onto the examination table.

Sakura, clearly satisfied, tried her best to hide her triumphant smile as she pulled her rolling chair in front of the examination table so that she was the same height as Itachi, who by now already managed to take his shirt off without her having to tell him to do so.

Well, it seemed like they were making some sort of progress.

Sakura sat down in front of him and gently brushed her hand over the purple colored bruise, instantly feeling the muscle beneath her palm twitch out of protest.

Sakura pursed her lips as her eyes filled with compassion. "It's in a pretty bad state. It'll take some time to heal and may hurt a little bit, so please be prepared." She warned as she made herself more comfortable and gently placed both of her palms over the broken rib.

"I'll start now."

"Hn." Was all that Itachi offered her in return before she started to pour her chakra into his body. Itachi was used to feel foreign chakra enter his body as were most shinobi that were on active duty and went on missions but this was the first time that he didn't have the urge to overpower it with his own.

The moment that Sakura's chakra filled him, it felt as if someone poured warm water over his skin. It was comfortable and not as cold and sharp as most of the others were. Hers was delicate yet firm and warmed his entire body from the inside, instantly soothing the pain that had plagued him for the past days.

Sakura instantly sensed that some of the tension that had previously filled Itachi's body left his body and, much to her surprise, felt him relax under her touch. She didn't need to lift her eyes to know that he was looking at her but, being the professional medic she was, she didn't allow it to distract her.

"You may feel nauseous or slightly dizzy after the treatment but even if you don't, don't train for the remainder of the day until your body has fully recovered from the healing procedure."

"I don't think that it's going to be a problem, given that we do have an appointment this evening." Itachi reminded her, his velvet voice having lost a small part of its rough edge.

Sakura was surprised that she he brought up their meeting that was scheduled for this evening first and offered him a small smile.

"True." She agreed, not looking up from his rib-cage. "Though I have to admit that I am curious as to how you got this broken rib. Did you spar with Shisui or Kakashi?"

Itachi kept his eyes fixed on Sakura, sparks of curiosity brightening his onyx orbs as he took a moment to contemplate whether he should tell her that it was actually her doing or not.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, of course." Sakura told him after some moments of silence. She didn't want to force him into telling her anything that he didn't want to but much to her surprise, his voice reached her ears once more.

"I got my rib broken during a training session two days ago."

Sakura hummed as she nodded to herself. Just as she and Tsunade expected, he got it broken two days ago and that it happened during a training session made sense as well. Admittedly, her curiosity was piqued but knowing Itachi, he didn't just spar with anyone so it had to be with someone close to him like Kakashi or Shisui, for example.

Then again, as far as she knew Shisui was on a mission and wouldn't return until tomorrow and Kakashi was on a reunion with Kurenai and the others, so that left very little others.

 _Two days ago, hm?_

Well, it was Sakura's first day back at the hospital two days ago, but nothing special-

Sakura's eyes considerably widened before they snapped up to look at Itachi, who calmly caught her surprised orbs with his own mildly amused ones.

So she had finally figured it out.

"Wait, I was the one who broke your rib during our training session?" She asked, clearly surprised by the outcome of this. Whereas she could recall landing a hit on Itachi somewhere close to his ribs, she didn't think that she actually managed to break one of them.

At least that explained why he was in such a bad mood upon seeing her this morning. As if his ego didn't take quite the blow already because Mikoto dragged him to the hospital and caused a big fuss in front of Tsunade and his advisor who, coincidentally, was the one who broke his rib and didn't even remember until now.

Way to hurt an Uchiha's pride.

"You should have told me yesterday." Sakura told him, averting her eyes from his to once more look at the familiar green light that engulfed her hands. "If you did, it would already be healed by now, you would have been in less pain and your mother wouldn't have dragged you here in the first place."

Itachi knew that she was right and whereas he actually considered to bring it up yesterday when she surprisingly appeared at his office, one look at her bruised eye was enough to prevent him from doing so. She was exhausted enough as it was and healing a broken rib would have only worsened her condition to the point where she would have troubles walking home on her own. He didn't want to burden her with something that could be taken care of the following day.

"You were exhausted and in need of rest. Your chakra was already low and you needed the reserves that you had left for your own treatment." Itachi calmly explained as he turned his head to the right to look out of the window, eyes locked on the clear blue sky. "It didn't seem right to request medical attention from you when you needed it yourself."

Sakura felt her heart warm upon hearing his words and kept her gaze fixed on his rib-cage, expression softening. So he didn't ask her to heal his rib the day before because he wanted her to heal herself and rest first? If Sakura didn't know it any better, she would dare to believe that Itachi was actually concerned for her well being and put her needs over his but since it was Itachi they were talking about, it seemed highly out-of character.

Then again, it was the same Itachi that run all the way back from Suna to Konoha just to safe his advisers life so it wasn't that far fetched.

"Careful Hokage-sama, or I may start to believe that you are actually more considerate than everyone makes you out to be." Sakura warned, lips curving up into a teasing smile as she pushed slightly more chakra into Itachi. His rib was almost fully healed and the discoloration of his skin also slightly faded but she would still need to inject the anesthesia in order for the nerves to to numb the nerves around it.

She dared to glance up at Itachi just in time to catch the ghost of a smirk on his lips, head still turned away from her. Despite of his previous bad mood he now seemed more at ease in her company, the tension having long left his body.

A knock suddenly filled the silence of the room before Sakura heard the door to Itachi's room open. Whereas Itachi didn't even bother to turn his head towards the door to acknowledge whoever entered the room, Sakura glanced over her shoulder to verify that it was indeed Suki who entered.

"Sakura-san, I got you the anesthetics and bandages." Suki's familiar voice reached her ears and Sakura couldn't help but notice that her voice was slightly higher pitched than usual.

Sakura refrained from snorting out of amusement. Sakura knew that most of Konoha's high-ranked shinobi were the talk of the hospital staff and that her boss was no exception, but she never realized just how different they acted around them.

Then again, Suki always volunteered to assist Sakura or Tsunade whenever they were treating one of her teammates or other shinobi of high rank. She was known to target the higher ranks and judging by the way she added an additional swing to her hips, Itachi was her latest target.

Suki was a pretty decent girl that did a good job at the hospital and she never caused much trouble either, but she was famous for being Konoha's hospitals gossip queen.

She and some of the other nurses liked to spend their free time exchanging the latest news and gossip and Sakura would bet her life that the rest of them were probably dying of envy because Suki got to be the one to see _the_ Uchiha Itachi shirtless.

Sakura couldn't even count the times when she was involved in some sort of rumor, whether it was with one of her teammates that she had to treat or some random stranger. Hell, she even heard Tsunade's name being mentioned every once in a while but Sakura was already used to it and paid it no mind.

There were these rare times when she needed to personally take care of some rumors, like that one time when someone said that she was pregnant with Kakashi's child or that she only had two more weeks to live, but these were some rare exceptions.

She also had to say that not every nurse or medic liked to gossip and that there were many exceptions, like Kiko and some others that she knew, but Sakura didn't look down on someone as a person or their skills because they liked to spend their time gossiping either.

She couldn't care less, as long as they properly did their job.

"Suki, please prepare the injections. As soon as I am done, you can wrap him up and give him the prescribed painkillers and vitamins." Sakura told her as she pushed some more chakra into Itachi, brows furrowed out of concentration.

"Will do, Sakura-san." Suki returned as she placed the tray with the utensils down onto the examination table next to Itachi, who didn't even bother to spare her a glance.

Suki pulled her long hazelnut-colored hair back into a low ponytail before she picked up one of the empty syringes and started to fill them with the anesthetics.

"Did Yura take care of the patient in room 198?"

"Yes, Sakura-san. Yura-chan and Takemi-sama are preparing her for surgery." Suki replied, her eyes once more straying to Itachi, who was very well aware of the brunettes eyes on him.

He eventually turned his head back to look at the pinkette in front of him who was seemingly absorbed in the task of healing his broken bone. He barely felt any pain and judging by the way her chakra continued to evenly flow into his body, Sakura did her best to continue until it was fully healed.

"Sakura-san, do we have some spare needles? I think that the packaging this one has already been opened." Suki suddenly asked, causing Sakura to look up from Itachi's torso and at the needle in question.

"We should have some in the second drawer." Sakura returned before she shifted her attention back to healing Itachi while Suki took the syringe and walked over to the drawer.

Itachi kept a close eye on the girl and watched her rummage through the every drawer of the desk but the one that Sakura mentioned.

Whereas Itachi's face remained impassive, his eyes sharpened for the smallest of bits when Suki's elbow brushed over one of the buttons on the desk's right and not even a second later, the sprinklers in the room came to life and countless of water drops rained down on them.

Sakura, clearly caught of guard, jumped in place as the icy water droplets hit her skin, causing her to loose her concentration for the split of a second and to pour a bit too much chakra into Itachi.

The Uchiha involuntarily flinched under her touch and Sakura's head whipped to her right to shoot a seemingly surprised Suki that was frozen in place in front of the desk an annoyed glare.

"I'm so sorry Sakura-chan! I didn't mean to-" Suki started, intending to ramble on but Sakura instantly cut her off.

"Just turn it off and get the needle." She curtly returned, her hands still resting on Itachi's torso before she looked at the Uchiha heir with apologetic emerald eyes.

She could tell that he was just as pleased about Suki's little mistake as she was but unbeknownst to her, the reason for his displeasure was the knowledge that it was anything but a mistake and instead, an intended action.

Itachi merely returned Sakura's gaze with a calm one of his own as he tried to ignore the way Sakura's skin seemed to glow due to droplets of water that reflected the sunlight and cascaded down her face.

He removed his eyes from his advisors face and instead decided to keep an eye on Suki, who by now managed to turn the sprinklers off.

Itachi found that it wouldn't have made a difference if she turned them off now or an hour later because he as well as Sakura and the bandages were drenched in water. He knew that Sakura was trying her hardest not to loose her calm in front of him and so far, she succeeded in doing so.

When Itachi caught sight of Suki walking towards them with the fresh needle on top of the syringe in her hand whilst taking rather sloppy steps, however, he knew that this was going to change very soon.

It all happened in a heartbeat.

Suki somehow managed to slip on the wet ground and tripped forwards, the syringe flying out of her hand as a small yelp escaped her.

Itachi instantly acted and wrapped an arm around Sakura's waist, gently pulled her closer to him and extended his other free arm to catch the syringe that was just about to bury itself into her neck.

Sakura sharply inhaled as she suddenly felt herself getting pulled against Itachi as she tried her best not to interrupt the flow of her chakra. Her eyes widened out of surprise when she suddenly found herself just an inch away from his face, their noses brushing and his arm firmly wrapped around her waist to keep her in place.

Itachi was looking straight back at her, his eyes narrowed instead of wide and orbs crimson instead of onyx and Sakura didn't dare move.

He was close, too close and Sakura desperately tried to get her heart to stop furiously hammering against her chest at the sudden close proximity between her and the Uchiha heir.

Itachi gently lowered his free arm in order not to startle Sakura, who was seemingly still trying to figure out what had just happened and placed the syringe back onto the tray next to him.

"You should keep a tighter leash on your staff." Itachi mumbled, causing Sakura to snap back into reality. It took her a moment to process his words and what had just happened but when the realization that Itachi had just saved her _again_ settled in,from her own staff nonetheless, she felt the blood in her veins boil.

Sakura carefully leaned back so that she could create some space between her and Itachi before she clenched her jaw and shut her eyes close.

"I'm so sorry Sakura-san!" Suki called from behind her, her voice sounding less apologetic than it should as she rushed to stand next to Sakura and made a perfect 90 degree bow. "I'll take care of the mess and take over so that you can-"

"Get out."

Suki, clearly not having expected Sakura's command, needed a moment to recover and process Sakura's words. "But Sakura-san-"

"If you don't leave this room within the next two seconds I'll personally make sure that you'll be sitting behind the reception desk for the next three months and won't ever get this close to a patient again. Now get of my sight and wait in my office until I am done here." Sakura snapped, her patience having run thin.

Suki instantly did as told and reluctantly left the room without uttering as much as another word, leaving Sakura to take care of patching Itachi up on her own.

Itachi didn't bother to hide his amusement upon seeing Sakura loose her cool, just as he predicted, and slowly removed his arm from Sakura's waist when he was sure that she was steadily sitting on her rolling chair once more. Her face was slightly flushed out of anger, her hair was damp due to the water and her rosy lips were thinned into a straight line.

He couldn't help but keep his eyes locked on her face as he took in the way her emerald eyes were still burning out of anger, creating a strong contrast to her pale skin and rosy locks.

Sakura never failed to bore him, it was quite the opposite as it seemed. The pinkette kept on piquing his interest in ways no one else ever managed to, leaving Itachi to wonder just what it was that caused his gradually growing desire to learn everything about her.

He knew that he was approaching dangerous territory, but once something caught Itachi's attention there was no turning back. He needed to figure out just what made her different from the rest and in order to do that and until he managed to do that, he would make sure to keep a close eye on her.

Sakura, unaware of Itachi's intense gaze and occupied with the task of controlling her still evident anger, gradually lessened the amount of chakra that she poured into his body until she fully stopped and removed her hands with a sigh.

"Well, your rib is healed. I'll inject you the anesthetics and apply some cooling gel before I'll bandage it so don't you dare get any weird ideas and leave before I'm done." Sakura told him without looking up before she grabbed the syringe that Suki prepared and pointed it at Itachi's skin. Her brows furrowed out of concentration as she looked for the right place to inject the anesthetics and when she found the place she was looking for, she placed a cool hand against his lean torso.

"It may burn slightly." She gently warned before she pushed the needle into his flesh and carefully injected the liquid into his body.

Itachi, of course, didn't even flinch when the needle broke his skin and kept his unwavering gaze on Sakura as he watched her injecting the anesthetics before she gently removed the needle and placed the syringe aside.

She briefly glanced up at Itachi and was surprised to find him already looking at her. Sakura, though mildly surprised by the intensity of his gaze decided to brush it off pointed a warning finger at him.

"You better not move." She warned as she stood up, earning a raised brow from Itachi as she turned around and grabbed some towels that were neatly placed in one of the cabinets in the room.

She tossed one at Itachi, who easily caught in one hand before he dried his upper body with it while Sakura used one to dry her hair. As soon as she was done, she walked back to the desk and opened the third drawer to get out a fresh bandage before she made her way back to Itachi who, by now, also finished to dry himself off.

"I don't think that I'll have to tell you how to change your bandage, do I?" Sakura asked, risking a look at Itachi whose blank face was answer enough. "Figures."

Sakura sat back down onto the chair and gently applied some of the cooling gel over his freshly healed ribs whilst trying to ignore the way his muscles flexed beneath her palm. As soon as she was done with applying the gel, she started to wrap the bandage around his torso and pointedly focused on anything but the feeling of his eyes boring into the back of her head.

"So, all done." She announced and gave his freshly bandaged ribs one last gentle pat before she offered him one of her small yet genuine smiles. "Next time I accidentally break your rib, please seek me out right after. This way, you'll be in less pain and I'll feel less guilty."

Itachi regarded her for one long moment before he tilted his head ever so slightly to the right, eyes shining with concealed curiosity. Why would she feel guilty instead of proud for managing to land a hit on him?

Upon looking closer at her face, he realized that she did heal her bruised eye and neck like he told her to and a wave of content washed over him.

"You healed it." He observed, catching her off guard. Sakura's hand instantly flew up to touch her formerly bruised eye, resting there for a moment before she gave him a curt nod.

"Yeah." She confirmed, trying her best to keep her smile on her lips as she remembered last night. "It wasn't that much of a big deal though."

Sakura could have sworn that Itachi's eyes narrowed for the smallest of bits as he hummed lowly, eyes never leaving hers. "I assume that you have taken proper care of him after his attempted escape."

Sakura huffed out of amusement and pushed her rolling chair slightly back before she grabbed the tray next to Itachi and walked over to place it on the desk. "Well, let's say that he won't get to punch me a second time."

A comfortable silence filled the room as Itachi moved to put his shirt back on while Sakura tried to make out whether she could still save some of the wet papers or if she would have to throw them away.

A sigh passed her lips as she looked at the messy room. All of this because Suki wanted to treat Itachi on her own. Whereas she did pity the girl to some degree for having to use such drastic measures to get what she wanted, it was a very immature act that not only endangered Itachi, the _Hokage_ but also Sakura.

If it wasn't for him she would be in big trouble.

"I expect you to be on time." Itachi suddenly spoke, his rich voice ripping her out of her musings as she shifted her attention to a now fully dressed, still slightly wet Itachi.

Sakura nodded as she run a hand through her long hair and heaved a heavy sigh. "I'll be there on time." She promised, already feeling the upcoming headache as she remembered that Suki was probably waiting for her in Sakura's office.

As if she didn't have enough to deal with already.

Itachi curtly inclined his head and with one last look at Sakura, disappeared into thin air right in front of her eyes just like he did many times before.

Sakura waited for some moments to ensure that Itachi really left before she plopped back down onto her rolling chair and run a hand over her face out of exhaustion. This was _so_ not going to be a good day.

* * *

"You better have a good explanation for only returning now young man."

Judging by the angry voice that reached his ears as Itachi entered his home, it seemed like his mother had already found her next target for the day.

Itachi followed the voices and made his way into the kitchen where Sasuke was sitting on one of the cushions, enjoying his meal while his mother was standing on the opposite side of it with a wooden spoon pointed at Sasuke.

"Naruto and I had to take care of something." Was the only explanation that his brother offered their mother before Itachi entered.

Mikoto's eyes snapped to Itachi who gave her a small nod before he as well sat down at the table, her eyes filled with surprise upon seeing her sons wet clothes. "What happened to you?"

Sasuke also turned to look at Itachi, whose eyes were fixed on the food on the table in front of him. "The fire sprinkler went off." He calmly explained as he plopped one of his mothers rice balls into his mouth.

Mikoto's eyes narrowed before they traveled down to rest on his covered chest.

"Ribs?"

"Taken care of."

Mikoto let out a sound of content before she turned her attention back to Sasuke, who wisely remained silent during his mothers interrogation. "And what was that something that you had to take care of?" Mikoto questioned, clearly mad that her son didn't give her a heads-up before he decided to leave to do god knows what.

Sasuke remained silent and Itachi could tell that he contemplated whether he should tell his mother the truth or only half of the story but since Sasuke was a mamma's boy, Itachi knew that he would end up telling her the truth.

"We were at Sakura's."

Now that had Itachi's full attention.

"Sakura's?" Mikoto echoed, slowly lowering her wooden spoon as she looked at Sasuke in surprise. "If the two of you slept over at Sakura's why didn't you just tell me?"

Sasuke one more hesitated and whereas Itachi feigned disinterest and continued to silently eat, he found himself strangely compelled to listen. Whereas he knew that his brother and Naruto slept over at his pink haired advisors apartment every once in a while, Sasuke always told his mother beforehand so that she wouldn't worry.

The mere fact that this time he didn't tell his mother meant that it must have been a spontaneous decision of theirs to do so.

"Someone broke into her apartment while she was at work yesterday. Whoever it was didn't take anything and only left her a flower on her bed so Naruto and I stayed with her." Sasuke reluctantly elaborated and Itachi stilled.

"What?" Mikoto exclaimed, clearly unsettled as her expression softened. "How could someone break into her apartment?"

Sasuke shrugged as he tightened his hold on his chopsticks. " Kakashi personally created a high level jutsu that sealed Sakura's apartment so whoever it was must have been of high-rank."

Silence filled the room and for a moment no one spoke, each deep in their own thoughts.

As Itachi thought back to the pinkette, he realized that she didn't mention it during his healing session and even acted like nothing happened. Whereas he knew that they weren't what one could call close, he couldn't help but feel somewhat displeased that his advisor kept such a thing from him.

She was his advisor and therefore his responsibility. After the incident in Suna it should have been self-explanatory that she should report something like this to him, especially if the two incidents could be connected to each other.

Then again, why would someone break into her apartment just to leave a flower?

"What kind of flower?"

Sasuke's hand froze mid-air and his posture visibly tensed as Itachi's question reached his ears. He clearly didn't expect his brother to further question him regarding yesterdays incident and somehow, the mere fact that he did didn't sit right with him.

Still, he knew that if he were to lie to his brother he would most likely notice and leave to ask Sakura about it herself.

"It was a Kiku."

This time, Itachi turned to look at Sasuke just to find that his dark eyes were already fixed on him and judging by the displeased expression on his little brothers face, he probably thought along the same lines as he currently did.

So someone really targeted Sakura because of her connection to Itachi, it seemed.

"Didn't she mention anything at the hospital, Itachi?" Mikoto asked, expression hard as she turned to look at her eldest son.

However, it was her youngest son that replied instead. "The hospital?" Sasuke asked, eyes narrowing out of suspicion as he turned to look at Itachi as well.

"Sakura healed Itachi's rib at the hospital earlier today." Mikoto explained, knowing that when it came to Sakura her youngest son became a little over-protective after he got wind of Itachi locking Sakura in his office to do some of his paper-work.

"They're not close enough for her to tell him something like that." Sasuke huffed, plopping another cherry tomato into his mouth.

Whereas he wasn't too fond of the idea of his big brother working together with his teammate, he wasn't particularly against it either. Even though Itachi wasn't what one would call the friendliest person, he took care of what was his and Sakura, though he didn't like to admit it, fell into this category as well due to being his advisor.

At least he knew that she was out of harms way whilst being with Itachi and that was what was most important to him.

His teammates safety.

"She didn't." Itachi clarified, pointedly ignoring Sasuke's comment as he watched his mother frown out of disappointment.

"She probably didn't want to make a big deal out of something like that." Mikoto assumed as she turned back around to take care of the remaining dishes.

Itachi remained silent, not agreeing nor disagreeing with his mother as he fell back into his thoughts. It seemed like there was more to Sakura than he had previously thought.

Well, looked like he needed to keep an ever closer eye on the little pinkette from now on.

* * *

Sakura was exhausted.

It's been a long day at the hospital and right now Sakura wanted to do nothing more than to drop dead into her bed and sleep though the next week. Unfortunately, she still had a meeting to attend with a certain Uchiha that she couldn't possibly postpone now so her bed would have to wait for a couple of more hours until she could lend it some company.

The sound of Sakura's heels clacking against the marble floor echoed through the empty hallways of the hospital as she made her way back to her office to grab her stuff and leave for the meeting. She took a glance at her wristwatch and felt like throwing it out of the window the instant she did.

If she wouldn't hurry now she would never be able to make it before dawn and she knew that Itachi wouldn't appreciate it if she would keep him waiting again.

Sakura fastened her pace and pulled her hair-tie out of her hair as she rounded the corner. Her long, slightly messy rosy locks fell freely over her shoulders as she hurried to her office that was located at the end of the hallway.

As soon as she reached it, she entered her pass code into the lock and upon hearing the familiar melody, pushed the door open.

Sakura entered her office with a deep sigh, glad that her shift was finally over but the moment she closed the door and the lock fell back into place, she stilled.

She wasn't alone.

Even though she couldn't make out a foreign chakra signature, the warning bells in her mind caused her guard to instantly shoot up.

The first thing she did was to turn on the lights. As soon as she did and the room brightened, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary but strangely, she felt a sense of deja-vu overtake her as she took a step forwards into the room.

Sakura scanned the room for anything that may seem out of place and the moment her eyes fell onto her desk, she froze.

Laying innocently on her desk was a white Kiku that looked exactly like the one that laid on her bed yesterday night.

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she walked towards her desk with a uneasy feeling in her stomach. She stopped when she was standing right in front of her desk and suspiciously eyed the beautiful flower.

Sakura slowly extended her arm, intending to pick the flower up but the moment her fingers brushed against it's white petals, he flower faded into nothingness.

It was then that she realized her mistake and that her office once more turned dark, the only source of light being the orange light of the sunset that shone through her window.

Sheer silence filled the office and Sakura tried her best to stay calm. Even though she now knew the intruders identity, she somehow found herself unable to fully relax just yet.

Sakura didn't need to look around in order to know that he was standing right behind her, the slight shift in the air gave it away and an involuntary shiver run down the length of her spine.

"You broke into my office." She stated, eyes fixed on the wall opposite of her as she kept her back straight. Sakura wouldn't give in this easily, especially after he pulled this little mind-game on her with the help of his genjutsu.

"I believe that I warned you to not let being late become a habit, Haruno." Came the familiar deep voice from behind her and Sakura fought the urge to take a step forwards out of surprise.

Damn, he was closer than she expected him to be.

Sakura huffed as she took a few steps to the right and took of her white coat, tossing it onto the clothing rack in the corner of her room.

"Seeing as the sun is just now setting and that you are at my office instead of the library, you technically are just as late as I am, Uchiha-san." Sakura returned as she finally turned around to sideways lean against the desk, her arms crossed against her chest as she looked straight at the silhouette of her boss.

Itachi was standing right in front of her, his expression impassive even though his eyes were shining with the tiniest amount of satisfaction upon hearing her response.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances our previously arranged location will have to be moved to a more isolated place." Itachi announced, his eyes not failing to pick up the dark circles under her piercingly green eyes.

Sakura tilted her head to the right as she eyed him with a knowing gaze, her lips pursed. "Do these unforeseen circumstances have anything to do with what you showed me in your genjutsu, by any chance?" She asked, despite of already knowing the answer.

Crimson bled into onyx and within the blink of an eye, Sakura suddenly found herself gazing into the Sharingan for the second time this day. Itachi took a step closer before he extended his hand towards Sakura, expression not giving any of his thoughts or intentions away as he kept his gaze locked with her own. His eyes were glowing with a challenging spark as he watched Sakura eye his hand in suspicion, just as he had expected her to.

"It seems like there are more questions that we'd like to get answers to than we both originally thought, Haruno."

Sakura carefully considered her options for some moments, her gaze flickering from Itachi's face to his hand as she tried to make out what the Uchiha had in mind. He was right, she couldn't deny that. It seemed like with each day, the amount of questions that plagued her mind only increased and apparently, he found himself in a similar predicament if she understood correctly.

Then again, what if she didn't like the answers that she would get from him?

There was only one way to find out.

After some moments of carefully considering her options and the possible consequences, Sakura cautiously slipped her delicate hand into his bigger, strong one and the moment she did, she could have sworn that she felt an electric shock cursing through her body.

Unbeknownst to her, Itachi felt the exact same jolt curse though his vein as she slipped her hand into his and somehow, he had a feeling that it was anything but a good sign.

He gently tugged her closer until she was standing right in front of him, her emerald eyes gazing up at him in a mixture of determination and anticipation as he activated his Sharingan.

Sakura, already used to the Sharingan's transporting jutsu was prepared for the sudden wave of nausea as her surroundings faded before they stabilized once more and she suddenly found herself standing on top of the Hokage monument.

The instant she felt the ground beneath her feet materialize, Sakura took a step backwards and let go of his hand, still not used to be so close to him.

"The Hokage Monument?" She asked, surprised that out of all the places in Konoha he choose this one. Itachi lead her to one of the flatter stones of the Monument and motioned for her to sit down, the pinkette instantly doing as told.

Sakura wrapped her arms around herself, trying to shield herself from the chilly breeze while Itachi moved to stand next to her, facing the village.

A comfortable silence engulfed them as the two enjoyed the scenery that laid below. It was a refreshing change from the usual busy and crowded places in Konoha and despite of the chilly air, Sakura found herself quite enjoying it.

"It's a beautiful sight." Sakura commented, her emerald eyes reflecting the village's lights as she gazed down onto the place she called home her entire life. If she had glanced to her right after she spoke these words she would have caught the way Itachi's eyes softened for the smallest of bits upon hearing her words.

"It hasn't always been." Itachi returned, instantly catching Sakura's attention. There was something to his voice that caused goosebumps to cover her skin and if the sudden hardening of his eyes was anything to go by, she had a feeling where this was going.

"When did it start?"

Her voice was just about a whisper but Itachi heard her just fine. He took his time replying, memories that he had long tried to forget resurfacing and vividly flashing in front of his eyes as he thought back to the time when it all started.

The day Konoha slowly begun to break.

 _Itachi was running as fast as he could, slicing his kunai through as many bodies as he could without batting an eye. His eyes were burning, hands were shaking and yet, he knew that there was no turning back._

"It started with the Third Shinobi World War." Itachi eventually replied, feeling like he was about to recover a dark part of his past that he had sworn to never bring up again.

That was, until she got herself involved.

"The Third Shinobi World War." Sakura echoed, her eyes getting a far away look as she tried to recall everything that she knew about it. Yellow hair and blue eyes flashed in her vision and Sakura's eyes snapped to Itachi. "During this war the fourth Hokage lost his life, didn't he?"

" _Well done Itachi-kun." A blonde haired man in his late twenties praised from where he was seated behind the old wooden desk, a bright smile on his lip."You and the rest of your team did exceptionally well on this mission, I am proud of the three of you."_

Itachi could still remember how proud he felt upon hearing the Yondaime Hokage's praises and felt the bitter taste on his tongue return.

"He did." Itachi curtly confirmed. "He was one of the most honorable and strongest shinobi that I have ever encountered."

Sakura's heart painfully clenched beneath her chest. She was very well aware of the fact that whenever Minato's name was mentioned, all kind of praises followed and to hear Itachi speak this highly of him as well only spoke volumes.

"It seemed like you looked up to him a lot." Sakura spoke, voice laced with regret as she regarded Itachi with sad eyes. He must have only been a child, not much older than eight when the Third Shinobi world war broke out.

"I did." Itachi confirmed, eyes flashing with regret for the briefest of moments before it faded back out of existence. "As did most. If it weren't for him and Kushina-sama, Konoha would have fallen during the Third Shinobi World War."

Silence followed his words as Sakura took a moment to let the weight that his words carried properly settle in. If this were the case, the Konoha that as she knew it would have never existed and that mere thought was enough to unsettle her.

"I can only imagine what it must have been like to witness a war at such a young age." Sakura muttered as she pulled her knees up to her chest and placed her chin on top of them. "It must have been horrible."

Itachi felt the strange urge to scoff at her words. _Horrible_ didn't even come close to how it was but then again, he didn't think that there was a proper word that would have been able describe all the pain, terror and fear that it caused.

" _Please!" He heard a woman's shrill wail as she held the bloody body of a young child that didn't seem much older than him in her arms, tears streaming down her blood-covered face as she rocked back and forth. "Please save my child!"_

 _Itachi's steps faltered as he took in the sight of the distraught mother in the middle of the battlefield crying for her lost boy who became a victim during this cold war and for a moment, he actually felt sick._

"What they tell young children at the academy does not even get close to how it actually was." Itachi told her, trying to get the images out of his vision. "It was a sight that no one should be forced to witness."

" _Itachi! To your left!" One screamed and Itachi's body moved before he could even properly process the mans words. He swiftly moved to the right, narrowly avoiding a kunai that was aimed for his shoulder before he buried his own into the strangers neck._

Sakura kept her pity filled eyes locked on Itachi, her heart going out for the man next to her. She knew best that the Third Shinobi World War war was a horrible one that left deep traces in every one of Konoha's citizens life, but now that she heard it from Itachi himself, she wondered just how traumatized he must have been after witnessing and even fighting in such a war.

"What happened after the war ended?"

Her whisper was so soft that he barely missed it, but Itachi's keen hearing managed to make it out nonetheless. This time, Itachi's expression actually softened as he recalled the time when the Sandaime Hokage announced that the war was finally over.

 _Itachi was still standing in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by pools of bloods and piles of corpses, unable to move while the Shinobi around him loudly cheered upon hearing the announcement that the war was won and officially over._

 _His eyes were locked on the ground beneath him as he remained standing on the field, paralyzed as silent tears streamed down his pale face._

 _It was over. It was finally over. He should be happy and celebrate, run back to his family to tell them that he was alright and well but strangely, he couldn't bring himself to move._

 _He was safe. His family was safe and the war was over. But why did it feel like the real war had actually just begun?_

Itachi sighed. "Konoha had a hard time recovering. With the death of the Yondaime as well as thousands of others, Konoha was at it's weakest point and many wanted to make use of that. There have been countless of attempted coups that various clans attempted, the Uchiha's being one of them." He revealed, much to Sakura's surprise.

"Your family attempted a coup?" Sakura asked, voice laced with surprise. Since most of Konoha's Police Force consisted of Uchiha and Itachi even became Hokage, she assumed that the Uchiha Clan would be the last to turn against Konoha but apparently, she had been very wrong.

Itachi, not surprised by her reaction, merely nodded. "Aa. After the war ended, the Uchiha Clan did not receive any praise for their work. Many expected my father to be named the next Hokage, especially after his work during the war so when he didn't become the Godaime Hokage, many of the Uchiha Clan members, including my father, were beyond angered and eventually planned a coup."

" _This is unacceptable." One of his uncles spoke, his rough voice booming through the room as he slammed his fists onto the table. "How dare they disrespect us to such an extend?"_

 _Itachi turned to look at his father who was sitting at the head of the table, his jaw clenched and eyes shut. He could easily tell that his father was displeased about the outcome of events and judging by his uncles reaction, most of the clan was as well._

" _We have to do something, we can't just let it pass like that." Another one called from the far back, his words followed by a chorus of agreement._

 _It was when Fugaku opened his dark eyes and Itachi caught sight of the familiar glint in them that he knew that there would be trouble._

"Why did they fail?"

There it was, the question that Itachi knew she would ask but hoped she wouldn't. It wasn't something that he was ashamed of, he knew that he did the right thing, but it wasn't something that he was proud of either. Many Clan members still despised him for ratting them out and even though he didn't care about their twisted ideals and rotten grudged, Itachi was the one responsible for the Clan and therefore, also responsible for the ones that disliked him.

"I told the council about their plan and they left me with two choices. To either wipe out the Uchiha Clan or to fight alongside my Clan and start a civil war."

At that Sakura's head sharply snapped upwards and her green eyes widened out of shock, the blood in her body freezing. "They ordered you to kill your entire family?"

Sakura suddenly felt sick. What else was there that she didn't know?

Itachi offered her a curt nod before he continued. "In the end, the Sandaime Hokage dismissed the councils suggestions and summoned my father to the Hokage tower in order to take care of this matter on his own and without shedding any more blood. They managed to come to an agreement and even though my father tried to keep it on the low, the rest of the Clan eventually realized that it must have been me who leaked the information to the Hokage."

The pinkette had a hard time trusting her ears as she furiously bit down on her lip to keep herself from cursing at both his Clan and the Council. She couldn't understand how someone could even consider such an inhumane thing and had a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that it was only one of many things that she wasn't aware of.

"Disgusting." Sakura eventually muttered, and Itachi couldn't agree more. "How could they order a young boy to kill his entire clan?That's just sick." Sakura wondered out loud, still unable to believe it.

For the first time ever since they arrived, Itachi turned his head to look at her. Sakura was sitting on the stone with her arms wrapped around her legs and chin resting on top of her knees. Her burning green eyes were fixed onto the village that laid beneath them and even though she was slightly shivering because of the cold, she didn't complain about it.

Itachi found himself strangely at ease as he looked at her. He had imagined it to be harder for him to tell his brothers teammate about what happened but contrary to his expectations, it felt unexpectedly relieving now that he was able to share it with someone after all these years of keeping it to himself.

It wasn't like he wanted to share it. Rather than that, he _needed_ to share it in order for Sakura to survive in her current position. It was something that Itachi didn't necessarily wanted to do either but in the end, he found himself compelled to do so, especially after the most recent threats that were aimed at his advisor.

The Uchiha heir regarded the pinkette for some more moments until he turned to face the sleeping village once more. "For the following years, Konoha had a hard time recovering while trying to keep all of the Clans satisfied at once. Anbu of course continued to carry out Konoha's dirty work but in the councils eyes, that was not enough, so they created Root, a special force under Danzo's command."

"Root?" Sakura echoed, brows furrowing as she tried to figure out where she had heard this name before. "I think that I heard Tsunade mention it some time ago."

"They carry out missions that Danzo believes would benefit Konoha." Itachi explained. "Root's members are trained to loose their emotions and carry out missions such as killing individuals that pose a potential threat to Konoha or simply expressed their detestation towards our village without them having actually done anything."

"What?" Sakura exclaimed in disbelief, her expression scrunched up in a mixture of sheer incredulity and anger. She couldn't believe that such a special force actually existed and carried out such missions in the name of Konoha and, on top of that, under the command of the council.

"Tsunade-sama as well as I already tried to rid the world of Root but in order to do that, the clan elders have to agree and until now, more than seventy percent are against it." Itachi revealed, much to Sakura's horror.

Just what the hell was wrong with them?

"How could they possibly be against it?" Sakura asked, eyes wide out of confusion. "This is against everything that Konoha stands for!"

Itachi merely huffed upon hearing Sakura's words. She was right, of course. He as well thought along the same lines but unfortunately, not everyone shared their mindset.

"They are steering Konoha into the wrong direction and threaten to destroy everything that the Yondaime and Godaime Hokage have worked on for the past years." Itachi told her, finally turning around to fully look at her. His eyes were shining in the darkness, his jaw set and face blank as he looked down at her. "And that's exactly why I was named the Rokudaime Hokage."

"So that you prevent history from repeating itself." Sakura eventually concluded, her eyes softening as she looked up at Itachi with a heavy heart. She slowly started to understand the reason for his aloofness and the decisions that he has made so far.

Itachi shouldered a heavy burden that others would have never been able to carry without breaking under its weight. Standing in front of her wasn't a cold, self-centered Uchiha as she always believed him to be, but a man that tried to save his home with all his might.

And Sakura couldn't have possibly felt more guilty for not realizing earlier. Itachi kept his distance from everyone because he knew that they wouldn't understand even if he tried to tell them. He also tried not to get too involved with others out of fear of being vulnerable but now that she was assigned to be his advisor, she unknowingly became the perfect way for Itachi's enemies to get to him.

Sakura's heart clenched painfully in her chest as she realized just what Itachi had gone through and suddenly, she saw him in an entirely different light. He didn't deserve anything of what he was forced to witness and go through both as a child and now. It was no wonder that he always tried to keep her as far away from him as possible and treated her the way he did, it all made sense now.

Itachi could already guess her thoughts by the way the light in her eyes suddenly dimmed and her expression fell but also knew that there was nothing that he could do to change it. It was useless to sugarcoat the way things were and she would have to get used to the idea that Konoha wasn't what she believed made it out to be.

And that would take some time.

He watched her stand up and walk towards the railing of the monument before she grabbed the cool iron bar into her hand, knuckles turning white due to the pressure she applied to it. She was confused, surprised and disappointed all at once but most of all, Sakura was mad. Mad at the Council for ordering a young boy to kill his Clan, mad at Itachi and Tsunade for not telling her sooner and mad at the Clan elders for allowing something like Root to continue to exist.

It was ridiculous just how blind she actually was all the time.

She still loved Konoha and would continue to stay a loyal kunoichi that would go as far as to die for her village, but with her recently gained knowledge of what was happening behind the curtains, she would be even more careful when taking on orders from anyone that was Itachi or Tsunade.

Itachi also moved to walk over to the railing and took in Sakura's troubled expression with calculating eyes. She seemed shocked but not to the point where Itachi would have to worry about her going on a rampage or killing spree. Rather than that she mostly looked hurt and concerned, much to his surprise.

She really was an unpredictable woman indeed.

"So that's how it is, huh?" Sakura sighed as she wrapped her arms tighter around herself. "I have to say that I did expect Konoha to be involved in some dirty work, but I would have never guessed that it was this messed up." She then turned her head to the right, looking at Itachi in wonder. "Wasn't it hard to keep it to yourself for so long?"

"It was necessary." Itachi instantly returned, this time turning around to fully face her. "Konoha's safety is a shinobi's and especially the Hokage's first and foremost priority. The more people get involved in Konoha's business, the more they want to take matters into their own hand without taking time to consider if it would actually benefit the village or simply fulfill their own wishes. It was the same with Danzo, who eventually created Root because of this reason and my Clan who planned the coup."

He watched how Sakura's expression fell as she realized that his words made sense, and she suddenly seemed even more exhausted.

"So, what do we do now?" She asked, clearly frustrated. "Now that I know what's going on, I certainly won't let you do all of this on your own, Uchiha. I hope that this much is clear."

The right corner of Itachi's lips curled upwards into a smirk, amusement flickering in his eyes upon hearing her words. Itachi, of course, expected no less from her and sideways leaned against the railing, crossing his arms above his lean chest.

"We'll continue your training." He announced, much to her surprise. "Our agreement from before still stands, you knowing this doesn't change anything. What we do have to change, however, are some of your habits."

Well that was certainly something that she didn't expect to hear.

"Habits?" Sakura echoed as she arched a pink brow. "What kind of habits?"

Itachi's eyes darkened as he pushed himself off the railing and took a step closer to Sakura so that he was standing right in front of her, his entire body practically screaming authority.

"In order to properly work together, whether we like it or not, we'll have to properly function together." He declared, voice low yet clear. "This means no more withholding of information, regardless of the reason or circumstances."

Sakura stilled, knowing that he was referring to the flower incident. The pinkette huffed, a look of incredulity washing over her face as she looked at Itachi with a disbelieving smile playing on her lips. That one time that she didn't instantly report something to him he caused a big scene out of it but all the times when he had kept things from her, his _advisor_ , she was supposed to just let it be?

Typical Uchiha logic. It seemed like Sasuke and Itachi did share some similarities after all.

"Fine, but the same goes for you." Sakura reluctantly yielded, knowing that arguing with him would get them nowhere. "If we want to make this work, we'll have to learn how to trust each other first."

 _Trust._

Itachi rarely trusted others, especially people that he just recently got to know. Itachi's trust was a luxury that not many received and even the few people whom Itachi did trust knew that he still kept many things to himself for his own personal reasons.

It would take some time for them to properly trust each other and Itachi was certain that she was aware of that as well.

 _However,_

Itachi took in the way Sakura's bright green eyes were still fixed on his face as she expectantly waited for an answer, her usually pale cheeks flushed due to the chilly wind. Itachi couldn't put his finger on it but somehow, he had a feeling that this task may not be as hard as he originally thought it would be.

"Hn."

Sakura suspiciously eyed Itachi, not liking the way his eyes seemingly bore through her as she shifted her weight from one foot onto the other. She was glad that they finally got this taken care of but she already knew that she would probably spend the rest of the night thinking about his words. Now that there were no more big secrets between them, Sakura liked to think that they could finally start to concentrate on working together without wanting to bite each others head off.

"Well then, now that everything is taken care of we should probably go home." Sakura suggested as she expectantly looked at Itachi, who gave her a curt nod in return.

"We should." He agreed, and a strange sense of deja-vu came over Sakura as he continued. "I expect you to be at my office at dawn sharp."

Confusion radiated off Sakura in waves as she watched the Sharingan come to live once more and when the realization of what he was about to do overcame her, her eyes widened out of alarm.

He wouldn't.

"Oh no don't you dare-!" Sakura started,taking one step forward in order to grab his shoulder but it was too late.

Itachi had already left, leaving her on top of the Hokage monument in the middle of the freezing night all on her own.

Sakura couldn't believe that he had once more stranded her just like that, this far away from her home nonetheless as she stared at the now empty space in front of her with disbelieving eyes.

"Damn you Itachi!" She called as she stubbornly stomped her foot on the ground, fuming as another gust of wind hit her and forced her to wrap her arms tighter around herself in order not to freeze to death.

She couldn't believe the audacity of that Uchiha. First he put a genjutsu on her, then he dragged her to the most isolated place he could think of and in the end he abandoned her without giving her as much as a warning.

What a gentleman.

Sakura gritted her teeth as she turned around and reluctantly started her way back home, knowing that the chances of Itachi returning to fetch her were as high as Orochimaru being named the next Hokage.

Little did she know that the very same Uchiha that she was cursing as she walked through the deserted streets of Konoha was walking mere meters behind her, eyes not once straying off her form. The sight of her fuming amused him whereas the way her eyes blared up out of anger got him mesmerized. Despite of what Sakura was thinking, Itachi wasn't as thoughtless as she believed him to be and wouldn't let her walk home all on her own in the middle of the night, especially after he found out that he wasn't the only one who kept an eye on the pinkette.

Though his intentions were different.

Yes, his most recent fascination of the pinkette was gradually increasing with every moment that he spent in her present and that it wouldn't allow him to rest until he found out what exactly it was about her that kept him hooked on her.

Itachi's red eyes flashed dangerously in the darkness.

He would solve that enigma that went by the name of Sakura Haruno, no matter how long it may take him.

* * *

A/N: BOY! That was by far one of the longest chapter I have probably written and right now I want nothing more than to take a nap:(

I'm sorry that it took me some time to update, life has kept me beyond busy lately and to say that it was annoying the hell out of me would be the understatement of the century!

Anyways, now that I am back and somewhat got a grip on my life, I'll try to update more frequently and will also try to increase the length of the chapters.

I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and would be beyond grateful if you could tell me if you liked this chapter and what your favorite part was by leaving a **review.**

Now that Itachi told her most of the things that Konoha tried to keep hidden away, Itachi and Sakura will finally have time to properly focus on bonding!

Even though this is going to be one hell of a ride-

Anyways, as always, a big fat thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, read and reviewed this story so far! I love you all and can't thank you enough for your support.

Until next chapter!

Love you all,

Sara.


	12. A day at the Hokage's office

CHAPTER 12- A day at the Hokage's office

The next morning, Sakura was beyond tired. She barely managed to get a wink of sleep, her thoughts circulating around Itachi and what he had told her that night.

She had a hard time wrapping her mind around his words and when she finally managed to fall asleep, it didn't last for too long because she had to wake up two hours later.

It was a pain, really.

The pinkette was currently on her way to Itachi's office and tried not to let her lack of sleep dampen her mood too much. She was tired, yes, but because of that she shouldn't let the still innocent day suffer.

It didn't do anything to her yet and hopefully it wouldn't do so later on either.

Sakura reached the Hokage's office just as the sun was about to rise and once she was standing in front of his door, she did a quick silent prayer that today he wouldn't drive her to her wits end and for once had some mercy on her, before she knocked on the door.

When she felt the seal on the door fade into thin air, Sakura gently pushed the door open and entered the office, just to find herself surprised at the sight that greeted her.

She expected Itachi to be on his own but contrary to her expectations, Shisui was standing in front of his cousins desk, arms crossed above his chest and looking equally as tired as she did.

The Uchiha offered her a tired smirk upon seeing her enter the room, his eyes sparkling with mirth. "Guess I'm not the only one who didn't get any sleep at night. Let me guess, boy troubles?"

Sakura merely huffed, shooting Itachi a pointed glare as she walked to stand next to Shisui. "Something like that."

Shisui, having caught Sakura's not so subtle glare that was directed at Itachi couldn't help but arch a brow out of surprise, eyes sparkling with amusement. "What did he do this time?" He asked, genuinely curious.

Sakura's eyes caught Itachi's from where he was sitting behind his desk, his dark orbs filled with mild amusement as he slightly leaned back in his chair and leaned his elbow onto its armrest, chin placed on his fist. Sakura knew that he was enjoying himself and merely offered him an amiable, yet sharp smile.

"Good Morning Hokage-sama." She greeted, her voice not giving her feelings away. "Did you sleep well?"

To others, her question may have seemed innocent and friendly but Itachi didn't miss the sharp edge that Sakura's words held. Itachi knew that she was referring to last nights incident where he had left her at the Hokage Monument all on her own in the middle of the night, not knowing that Itachi didn't actually leave.

He decided to leave her in the illusion that he left last night and merely offered her a small hum. "I did, though I don't think that the same can be said for you, Haruno."

Sakura knew that he was trying to rile her up, especially since she was way easier to provoke whilst being low on sleep but Sakura knew better than to bite on his bait and instead, forced her smile not to waver.

"Well,you're not wrong. I admittedly am a bit tired, it was rather late when I returned home last night." Sakura spoke, and Shisui eyed the pinkette in wonder as he tried to catch on to the hidden messages that his cousin and the pink-haired medic seemingly exchanged.

"Why's that?" Shisui asked, still curious as Sakura turned to look at the Uchiha with a tight-lipped smile that this time, not even Shisui managed to miss.

"Well, I had to walk back home all the way from the Hokage Monument in the middle of the night because a certain _someone_ left without me." Sakura explained, and Shisui took a few seconds until he finally understand just who this someone that she was referring to was before his eyes turned to look at his younger cousin with a raised brow. Shisui knew his cousin well enough to know that Itachi most likely didn't leave Sakura on her own last night but for some reason, Itachi seemingly wanted to leave his little advisor in the illusion that this was indeed the case and that he simply left without her.

Itachi looked at Shisui and for a moment, Sakura felt like they shared a silent message before Shisui's lips curled upwards into a small, amused smile.

"You left her just like that?" He inquired, clearly amused by this situation but Itachi's expression remained impassive.

"She never asked me to take her back with me." Itachi deadpanned, and Sakura's head whipped to Itachi at a speed that could have easily snapped her neck.

He couldn't be serious.

Disbelieving emerald eyes once more clashed with onyx ones as she lifted a brow. "You can't be serious." She said, refusing to believe that this was the only reason as to why he left without her.

Itachi merely held her gaze, his eyes not giving anything away as he took his time in taking in the way her eyes brightened out of mild anger.

Ah, there it was.

"Wait, what were the two of you doing there in the first place?" Shisui asked, his smile turning into a mischievous smirk as Sakura hesitated and looked at Itachi for help, who in return remained silent.

Seeing that Itachi wasn't going to help her out of this one, Sakura took it onto herself to squish Shisui's fantasies.

"He put me under a genjutsu and when I manage to break out of it, I found myself at the Hokage Monument where Itachi gave me a lecture as to how I took too long to get out of it." Sakura improvised, deciding against telling Shisui the entire truth.

Well, it wasn't quite a lie either since Itachi did put her under a genjutsu, but Shisui didn't need to know that this wasn't the true reason for their little trip to the Hokage Monument.

"Oh." Shisui said, clearly disappointed that their trip was this uneventful and not as dramatic and romantic as he hoped that it had been. "How boring."

Sakura shook her head with an amused smile whereas Itachi merely heaved a soft sigh. His cousin may have been the older one out of the two, but it was obvious that he was the more mature Uchiha out of them.

Though Shisui liked to cover up his emotions with a cheery expression every once in a while as well. Itachi knew best that there was another side to Shisui that he liked to keep to himself, but it was his cousins own decision whom he wanted to show it to.

"You should get some sleep, it's been a long mission." Itachi told his cousin, knowing that once Shisui grew comfortable enough that it would take him hours to leave his office.

Shisui nodded, instantly agreeing with Itachi as he lifted his arms into the air and stretched himself. It had been a long mission indeed and he really did need his sleep if he wanted to stay fit.

"You're right, I should probably go." Shisui agreed, shooting Itachi a smile. "Tell aunt Mikoto that I'll drop by for dinner tonight."

Itachi decided against commenting on that and Sakura smiled lightly as Shisui walked out of the office after he offered her one last wave of his hand.

The door closed and just like that, the duo was on their own again.

Sakura sighed as she sat down onto the chair on the opposite side of the desk, the smile still on her lips as she looked at Itachi. "So, what's today's plan?" She asked, pointedly deciding against bringing last nights topic up once more.

Itachi, instantly noticing that Sakura was not going to mention anything regarding the conversation they shared last night, sat up straight and placed his forearms on his desk, expression not giving any of his thoughts away.

"Today we'll review some proposals so that you can get used to the idea of advising me." Itachi started, his eyes shifting to one of the staples of papers to his right.

Sakura's eyes followed his and upon seeing the mountain of proposals, she arched a brow. If this was his definition of _some_ , she didn't want to know what he meant by _many_.

"Alright, makes sense. Where do we start?"

For the following hours, both Itachi and Sakura occupied themselves with the proposals. They went through each and every paper of that staple and with every proposal, Itachi requested a detailed explanation from Sakura as to why she thought they should decline or accept it.

There have been a couple of times where their opinions differed but even then Sakura managed to give him a logic explanation that represented her point of view and opinion, much to his surprise.

It seemed like not only was Sakura skilled in the medical field, but also in the political.

Every once in a while a shinobi or kunoichi entered his office to drop off their mission records or to ask for permission regarding some paper stuff, and after the third time Sakura managed to successfully predict Itachi's answer.

It seemed like not only did she get an insight of Itachi's political and judgmental traits and opinions, but she also managed to figure out his trail of thoughts in the process.

"Proposal of raising the medical treatment costs for civilians up to Shinobi level."

At that, Sakura's interest was piqued.

"I don't think that it's a good idea." The medic eventually said, taking the paper that Itachi offered her with a small frown. She swiftly skimmed over its contents and whereas she did have to agree in one point or two, the overall idea didn't sit well with her.

Itachi was very well aware of her thoughts and hummed. "What makes you think that?" He inquired, genuinely curious as to what her argument would be in this case, especially since she was actively working in the medical field. In theory, a raise of the medical treatment costs for Konoha's civilians would benefit the hospital and it's staff but apparently, Sakura was not too fond of the idea regardless.

"Well, whereas it is true that the hospital's profits would increase and medical staff would also benefit of it, I don't think it's far to the civilians if we would raise their costs up to Shinobi level. You can't compare a shinobi's pay with the one that a civilian receives." She reminded him, placing the paper on the desk in front of her. "It would result of the civilians putting hospital visits off even more than they already do."

She was right in this aspect, but that didn't mean that he would let her off the hook this easily. "Shinobi and kunoichi get injured more often and therefore have to frequently pay a higher amount of costs." Itachi reasoned, and Sakura thinned her lips as she looked back to the paper.

"That's true, but that's why their insurance covers thirty percent of the bills. Konoha's citizens don't have this kind of insurance, so raising their medical treatment costs up to the Shinobi standard would still be too high." Sakura argued and as she lifted her eyes to see Itachi's small, yet satisfied smile she knew that she managed to convince him with this one.

"Hn, very well then."

Sakura placed the paper onto the small staple where the proposals that would be declined were stacked up at and lifted her eyes to glance at the clock.

It was already after noon and they still didn't take a break. She was slowly starting to get hungry and she knew that Itachi probably felt the same, but knowing the Uchiha he would probably want to clear his desk of all the proposals before he would even think of eating.

Not under her watch though. It would probably take them another three hours until they would be done and by then it would already be late evening. Mikoto probably wouldn't want her son's first meal of the day to be dinner and thus, Sakura decided that maybe she should change his usual working schedule a bit.

She stood up from the chair, the sound of it scraping against the office floor causing Itachi to look up at the pinkette with an arched brow, his eyes silently questioning her if something was the matter but Sakura merely offered him a smile.

"I'll get us some food." She declared, silently daring him to object but when he merely non-conversationally hummed and turned his attention back onto the paper in front of him, she knew that he wouldn't mind.

"Any special requests?" Sakura asked the Uchiha as she tilted her head aside, but the Uchiha didn't even bother to look up at her.

"I expect you to be back in fifteen minutes, so don't take any longer."

Sakura's smile fell upon hearing his words and the pinkette sighed as she made her way out of the office, shaking her head at the Uchiha.

She _really_ should have expected that.

Sakura didn't bother to run and instead, settled on calmly walking towards her destination. The food-court that she had in mind was not too far away from the Hokage tower and even if she did take her time getting there, she still wouldn't exceed the fifteen minute time-limit that Itachi had given her.

The weather was quite nice and Sakura enjoyed the fresh breeze that caressed her skin as she strolled through Konoha's busy streets. Her former tiredness was all forgotten as she told herself to simply enjoy her little break from Itachi's stuffy office and continued to walk towards the food court that her and the girls have been to a couple of times before already.

Only five minutes passed when Sakura finally reached her destination and the young girl shot Sakura a bright smile upon seeing her.

"Sakura nee-san!" She called from where she was standing behind the counter, her brown hair pulled back into a messy low bun. "What would you like today?"

Sakura returned the girls smile and took a look at the Menu that was hanging on the wall behind her, thinking about what would come closest to Itachi's taste.

"Good afternoon Mayumi, could you give me Menu one and four to go please?" Sakura asked, and Mayumi bobbed her head as she scribbled the pinkette's order down.

"Will do Sakura-chan! It'll take around five minutes." Mayumi told her with an amiable smile and Sakura nodded before she moved to the side to allow the customers behind her to place their orders.

Sakura wrapped her arms around herself and looked around the busy street, bored as she waited for her and Itachi's food but so far, nothing interesting caught her eye.

Two minutes passed before her emerald eyes caught sight onto a group of three men that were lazily strolling through the street. They were talking to one another and usually, Sakura wouldn't have paid them any attention but this time, she couldn't help but notice their eyes strayed from person to person, analyzing them from head to toe in a way she didn't like.

One of their eyes eventually fell on her and when he noticed that Sakura was already looking at him, he merely smirked, shooting her a wink before he moved his eyes back onto the road.

Sakura frowned and for a moment, she felt a strange sense of familiarity overcome her and just when they rounded the corner, she froze. She had seen this smirk before.

She had seen _him_ before.

And it was then that it clicked.

Sakura instantly darted after them, pushing through the crowds while she absentmindedly uttered apologies as she tried to keep her eyes set on the trio that rounded the corner. Her heart-rate picked up as she as well rounded the corner and entered a less busy street, eyes scanning the road in hope of catching sight of familiar silver-hair but when she was unable to see it, she came to a stop.

She couldn't have imagined it, she would have recognized his face anywhere and the mere fact that he seemingly recognized her as well was enough to strengthen her suspicion that it was him.

The one who poisoned her.

A yell from a woman behind her caused her to snap back into reality and her head to turn just in time to see a middle-aged man, probably not much older than Naruto and her pushing an old woman onto the ground as he grabbed her bag and made a mad dash into the opposite direction.

Just what she needed.

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she instantly followed the thief that had now slipped into the crowd, Sakura following close behind. The boy was pushing civilians left and right, yelling at them to move out of his way as he noticed that he was being chased.

"Stop it!" Sakura called as she jumped over a cabbage cart, the surprised gasps from Konoha's citizens following her every move.

The boy glanced over his shoulder and cursed as he saw Sakura catching up with him before he sharply turned to the right an disappeared into another smaller, less crowded street.

Sakura fastened her pace and was surprised to find that another one had joined the boy, a slightly younger girl who was now running next to him. She seemed to be faster than he was and the boy threw the bag towards his partner in crime before they entered another busy street and split up.

Sakura cursed as she followed the young girl that slipped into the crowd, disappearing beneath hundreds of new faces while Sakura's emerald eyes scanned each and every face in hope of catching sight of her.

Just when she was about to give up, thinking that she managed to escape did she feel the air behind her shift. Her head whipped to her right just in time to see a kunai flying towards her and the pinkette grabbed it mid-air with the help of her chakra, not risking to dodge it in case of it hurting innocent citizens.

A series of gasps and surprised calls followed the attack and Sakura instantly threw the kunai back towards the boy who tried to escape. He obviously didn't expect Sakura to be a kunoichi and tried to get out of her sight as fast as he could but the kunai was faster and pinned his sleeve onto the nearby wall of an alley.

The boy's wide eyes were fixed onto the Kunai before they flew back to Sakura and just as she charged towards him, a flash of red caught her sight out of the corner of her eye.

Sakura dodged the kick that was aimed at her head and did a turn before she grabbed the girl's arm and twisted it behind her back, earning a yelp but from as she tried to wriggle free.

"Let me go!" She called, struggling against Sakura's hold but the medic merely frowned out of disapproval.

"Where is the bag?" She inquired, tightening her grip on the girl when she stubbornly remained silent. The red-head gave a small pained yelp as she felt Sakura tighten her grip and gritted her teeth. "You'd like to know, wouldn't you?"

Well this wasn't going anywhere. Sakura sighed as she decided to take the calmer approach, noticing that a circle had formed itself around them, young and old eager to look at the source of commotion.

"Look, if you return that bag I'll put in a good word for you but in order to do that you have to tell me where it is. If you don't, you'll find yourself in bigger trouble than you'd like." Sakura told them, her eyes moving between the boy that was still trying to get the kunai out of his sleeve and the girl who was biting her tongue.

Contrary to her expectations, the young girl suddenly started to laugh, a smug expression on her face as she looked over her shoulder to throw Sakura a cocky look.

"You really think you're smart, don't 'cha girly?"

Safe to say, Sakura didn't expect the sudden shrill noise that entered her head as soon as the last word left the red-heads mouth. It was a shrill, continuous high noise that caused her to let the small girl go and to cover her ears instead, the pressure of it making Sakura dizzy.

She tried to keep her eyes open, vision blurry as her eyes fell onto the girl and a new boy who were working on freeing their pinned friend, the new boy shooting Sakura a nervous look before he formed a new series of seals.

Sakura tried to take another step forwards, reaching out to grab the boys collar but just as her fingertips brushed against the fabric the shrill noise returned, forcing her onto her knees.

She clenched her eyes shut, all sense of balance fading as the last thing she managed to make out was the sight of Konoha's citizens holding their heads in pain.

Sakura forced chakra into her hands in hope of dimming the noise but when it wouldn't work, she inwardly cursed.

Just when she felt like the noise was getting too much to bear, she felt someone gently grab her face, his touch so soft that she barely managed to make it out. He gently forced her eyes open with his thumbs and in the next moment, she found herself staring into an all too familiar pair of Sharingan eyes.

 _Itachi._

As soon as Sakura recognized him, she calmed under his touch. She trusted Itachi to get her out of this mess and allowed him to do his work. Indeed, not even seconds later the Uchiha broke the jutsu that the thieves placed on Sakura and the rest, the illusion shattering and the shrill noise gradually fading until it fully disappeared.

As soon as the noise died down Sakura was breathing heavily, head pounding as she clenched her eyes shut and a soft groan passed her lips.

The noise may have disappeared but the pain and nauseousness was still evident. Itachi removed his hands from her face and gently placed them on her shoulders, keeping her steady as his crimson eyes caught her dazed green ones.

"Thank you." She breathed, placing a hand on her forehead to calm herself as she looked around to see that the bystanders were also slowly starting to get back on their feed with each others help and support. "What about the thieves?"

Itachi averted his gaze and fixed them onto something behind her. Sakura's eyes followed his line of vision before they rested on the unconscious trio on the ground several meters away from her. She breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for Itachi's last minute rescue as she offered him a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't intend to cause such a commotion." Sakura apologized as she allowed Itachi to help her back up.

"I wouldn't worry about you causing a commotion." He assured her as he allowed his Sharingan to fade out of existence. "Though I would worry about you running late becoming an habit, Haruno."

Sakura couldn't help but smile, instantly feeling better as she shook her head at Itachi's words. "Don't worry, I'll try not to let it become a habit. Though, I am afraid that I left our lunch at the food-court because of a certain trio." She said, shooting the unconscious teens a pointed look.

Itachi also turned to look back at the teens before his eyes shifted to the crowd that was looking at the duo in both awe and suspense. The children in the front row were looking at him with wide, awe-struck eyes and Itachi could easily tell that his mere presence was enough to impress them.

"Woah, isn't that Hokage-sama?" A boy who seemed no older than ten exclaimed, clearly excited.

"It is! He saved Sakura nee-san!"A girl replied, eyes sparkling as her eyes moved from Itachi to Sakura, then back to Itachi.

Sakura shot them a smile before she shifted her eyes back to Itachi. "I think we should leave or else they might ask for your autograph." She joked, and Itachi curtly nodded in return before he turned around to leave, Sakura following suit.

"What about the thieves?" Sakura asked, eyes straying to them before she looked back up at Itachi in question.

"I've already informed Konoha's police force, they should be here every minute now." Itachi told her as they started to make their way back towards the Hokage tower.

Sakura hummed in return, slightly muffled that they didn't want to cooperate with her. They seemed to be her age and even though they were quite rude, they could've gotten away with less easier trouble if only they would have returned the woman's bag when she told them to.

Sakura and Itachi made their way back towards his office, picking up the food Sakura had previously ordered so that it wouldn't go to waste. On the way back, Sakura was inwardly wondering whether she should tell Itachi about what she had seen before she chased the thieve or if she should wait until she would see him again.

The duo ate their lunch without exchanging a word, Sakura remaining uncharacteristically silent as she ate her food. Itachi instantly noticed that something was off with the pinkette but decided against asking her. He knew that if something was bothering her she would either consult him by herself or leave it at that, though he had to admit that he preferred the more talkative Sakura.

After they finished lunch, they continued to work through the proposals and even though Sakura still tried her best to fulfill her part as the advisor, Itachi noticed that this time the pinkette was not as energetic as she had been before.

When there were only a handful of proposals left , Sakura eventually made up her mind and decided to tell Itachi.

She knew that he most likely already noticed her inner dilemma and purposefully didn't address it but since it was a matter that also concerned him, she figured that it would be best to let him know.

After all, she didn't want history to repeat itself.

"There is something that I should tell you, Uchiha-san." Sakura started, carefully choosing her words as she looked up at Itachi from the paper that she had previously read.

Itachi looked at her, not the least bit surprised as he remained silent and caught her gaze, mutely indicating that she should continue.

Sakura instantly got the message and placed her pen onto the desk before her eyes hardened, posture straightening as she looked him dead in the eye.

"I believe that the ones who poisoned me in Suna managed to get into Konoha."

Now that Itachi didn't expect.

His eyes sharply narrowed as he looked at Sakura, onyx orbs dangerously glowing in the dim light of his office. "What leads you to believe that?" He inquired, his low voice having a sudden steely edge to it that Sakura didn't miss.

The pinkette shifted slightly under his gaze. "Back when I was ordering our food I saw him and two strangers walking through Konoha's streets. At first, I didn't recognize him simply because I didn't expect it to be him out of all but when he recognized me as well, he didn't make a move to hide himself. It was quite the opposite actually. " Sakura told him, her own eyes narrowing as she thought back to their encounter. "It seemed like he wanted me to recognize him."

Itachi didn't like where this was going. If Sakura's words were to be trusted and she really did see one of them, that would mean that they somehow managed to escape Suna's prison.

If this was the case he would have already been notified of it and since he didn't receive any message from Gaara, this couldn't have possibly been the case.

So they either managed to break out of Suna's prison without them noticing or someone was playing a trick on Sakura.

Either way, he didn't like it.

"Are you one hundred percent sure that it really was him?" Itachi inquired, placing his elbows onto the surface of his desk and interlaced his fingers in front of him.

Sakura nodded, her expression grave. "Positive. I tried following them but I lost them before I was able to make out who his two comrades were, but they weren't the ones he's been with in Suna."

Itachi believed her, she had no reason to lie to him about something like that but there was something about it that put him off. If he really managed to get into Konoha and was keeping an eye on Sakura, this meant that she was in far more danger than he expected her to be in.

He would have to consult Gaara about this and ask him about his prisoners current status to ensure that it was really him and not just a genjutsu.

"It was the right thing to tell me." Itachi told her, picking up the way Sakura slightly relaxed. "If something like this happens again, don't follow them and instead instantly seek me out."

Sakura nodded as she leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes. She felt like part of the burden that weighted down on her was lifted and yet, she felt like something about this entire thing was off.

"I don't think that they plan on attacking me a second time." She told Itachi, feeling his gaze on her. "I think that they showed themselves to remind us that we shouldn't be too comfortable and instead, to stay on alert."

Itachi thought along the same lines as Sakura and to hear her tell him his exact same thoughts only strengthened his belief.

"I'll talk to the Kazekage and take care of this matter. Regardless of that, I want you to be on alert when you are on your own."

Sakura opened her eyes and gave him a curt nod, knowing how important it was for her to keep her senses on high alert if she didn't want a repetition of Suna's incident.

Sakura stifled a yawn as she straightened in her seat, trying to rid herself off her sleepiness. It was already late evening and even though they had only five more proposals to go, Sakura felt beyond tired.

This didn't go unnoticed by Itachi of course and the Uchiha mildly wondered just how many hours the pinkette spent thinking about what he told her last night.

The duo continued to work on the proposals and after they finished the last one, Sakura heaved a heavy sigh.

"Finally." She breathed, eyeing the two staples with tired eyes. It wasn't as bad as she had expected it to be but as a kunoichi and medic, she hated to sit on a chair for more than an hour straight.

She needed to move and since she hadn't done so for more than three hours straight, she believed that it was about time to do so.

"Well then, now that we are all done we can finally leave." Sakura said, smiling as her eyes drifted to Itachi, who in return looked at her with an arched brow.

"You are free to go, Haruno, but there are still a thing or two that I need to take care of before I can leave this office. I'll have two guards escort you home." Itachi told her, earning a frown from Sakura.

"You don't expect me to leave you on your own, do you?" Sakura asked, mildly surprising Itachi. At his silence, Sakura merely shook her head.

"We already took care of most things together today, so I don't see any harm in helping you out with a thing more or two. Besides, it gets faster done if you have a helping hand, right?" Sakura said, shooting him a small smile as she lightly tilted her head aside. "So, where do we start?"

Itachi watched Sakura for another moment in silence, mentally weighting his options. If he would let her go now, he would have some time for himself until he would get home where the next commotion would expect him. Then again, if he would let her go home now and without any guards since she would most likely refuse to get escorted home, chances were high that whoever had his eye on Sakura would use this opportunity to attack her.

"Hn, very well."

It turned out that whereas Sakura did try her best to be of as much help as she could, her exhaustion took the better of her and she eventually fell asleep sometime close to midnight.

He couldn't blame her, for it did take longer than he expected it to and yet, it still amazed him to see that Sakura, one of Konoha's top kunoichi and medics managed to fall asleep in his presence.

Doing so spoke of a high amount of trust and Itachi suspected that it partly had to do with the fact that Itachi carried her all the way from Suna back home when she was poisoned and close to death. In such cases, her body was at its most vulnerable and when he didn't take advantage of her then, her subconscious probably knew that it was safe to take a rest in his presence.

When Itachi was finally done with his paper-work, he moved to walk over to the pinkette that was curled up in the chair, head leaned against the chair's back and a file innocently resting on her lap.

He knelt down next to her and carefully lifted the file from her lap to place it onto his desk before he shifted his eyes back to Sakura, who was still sound asleep.

Itachi inwardly wondered how he always managed to find himself in such unforeseen situations whenever Sakura was involved and gently wrapped his arms around her small, sleeping frame.

When he carefully picked her up and moved her so that her head was resting on the crook of his neck, Sakura suddenly tensed. For a moment, Itachi thought that she would wake up but when she softly sighed and her entire body relaxed, he knew that this wouldn't be the case.

The Uchiha turned off the lights of his office and walked over to his window, his hold on Sakura tightening as he moved to stand on its edge.

Whereas the Hokage Tower was most likely close to deserted, Itachi didn't want to risk anyone catching sight of him leaving with a passed out Sakura in his arms.

People would start gossiping, some may even assume that he knocked her out cold and that was something that the Uchiha could easily live without.

He then jumped out of the window and onto the nearby rooftop, landing on it with the grace of a cat as he started his journey towards Sakura's apartment.

The night air was cold and biting on his skin as he jumped from roof to roof and Sakura slightly shivered in his hold.

For a moment, Itachi's thoughts took a dangerous turn as he was tempted to pull her closer but he forced himself to rid his mind of such thoughts.

It didn't take him long to reach her apartment and when he did, Itachi came face to face with the seal that protected her home from intruders. It took Itachi mere seconds to break it and he made a mental note to tell Sakura to update her seal as he walked into her apartment.

It was the first time that he entered her home and whereas he didn't have a special image in mind regarding how it may look like, he found that her home suited her.

The moment he entered it, the familiar smell of lilies reached his nose, the very same smell that belonged to Sakura. Itachi closed the door behind him, careful not to make any sound as he further walked into the apartment in hope of finding her room.

Since Sakura's apartment was not too big, it didn't take him too long until he found her bedroom and when he did, he removed the neatly made sheets that covered the bed before he gently lowered Sakura onto the mattress.

He made sure to properly place her head onto the pillow before he reached for the sheets and gently placed them over her sleeping form. When he was done, Itachi reached out to gently move a strand of pink-hair out of her face, his fingertips brushing against her cheek with the weight of a feather as he tugged it behind her ear.

He allowed his fingers to rest there for some moments as he took in the sight of Sakura's sleeping form, imprinting the image into his mind. There was something about the way the moonlight caressed her pale skin, her pink long hair that was sprawled over her pillow and her rosy lips that were ever so slightly parted to inhale small and even gusts of air.

He was immersed by the sight, and it was then that Itachi realized just what dangerous territory he was about to enter.

Itachi reluctantly removed his hand from Sakura's hair and straightened, eyes taking in the sight for one more moment before he forced himself to turn around and leave.

Just when he was about to leave her bedroom however, something on her dresser caught his eye and when he turned to have a proper look at it, he instantly halted.

It was a Kiku laying innocently on top of her dresser, its white petals glowing in the moonlight.

Itachi's eyes sharpened as he walked over and picked it up. He activated his Sharingan to properly examine it in case someone placed a jutsu on the flower but when he found no traces of any jutsu or seal, he allowed the Sharingan to fade out of existence once more.

Itachi looked at the flower that now rested innocently on the palm of his hand before his gaze shifted to the still sleeping Sakura. It seemed like someone took joy out of to toying with the kunoichi, but it also seemed like whoever the one behind this was forgot that she was _his_ responsibility.

And whoever threatened what was his automatically secured a place on Itachi's list of people that he needed to remind just who they were dealing with.

Itachi tightened his hold onto the flower before he tucked it into the depths of his pants pockets and left Sakura's apartment, mind set.

It was time to take some action.

* * *

A/N: Et Voila, Chapitre 12! What do you think?

Nowadays I find it much more easier to update. Maybe it is because I finally got a somehow steady grip on my life, but maybe it's simply because I managed to overcome the nasty writers block that I had a couple of chapters ago. Either way, thanks to whichever one of the two it is I manage to update more regularly and it makes me really happy to get all the uplifting and motivating reviews from you guys!

You don't believe how much they motivate me to keep going and to update as soon as I can. Really.

As always, I hope that you liked this chapter and would be beyond happy if you would tell me by leaving a review!

See you next chapter!

Love,

Sara


	13. Blackout

CHAPTER 13- Blackout

"Stop dozing off, Haruno."

Sakura looked up from her Salad to shoot Tsunade who was sitting in front of her a halfhearted glare.

"I am not dozing off." Sakura protested before she stifled a yawn. "I am merely resting."

Tsunade looked at her, clearly unimpressed by her lame excuse as she took a bite off her cookie. "Pull yourself together, you only got two more hours to go until you're free whereas I still have to take care of some paper-work after you leave." The Godaime told her student with a grim expression.

Sakura rested her cheek on the palm of her hand and poked her salad with a sigh. It's been a rough week filled with emergencies, noisy patients that seemed to be getting more rude by every visit and with hours of working overtime.

During this week, Sakura barely managed to leave the hospital and even spent a night or two in her office, trying to catch some sleep before her shift would once more begin. It went like this ever since Itachi had dropped her off at home when she had fallen asleep in his office and the pinkette hadn't seen him ever since.

She couldn't complain because the Uchiha heir could certainly be a pain every once in a while but somehow, she caught herself thinking about how smooth things were progressing between the two of them at the most random times.

It was an unexpected yet pleasant surprise that the two of them were finally getting somewhat along with each other and Sakura admittedly feared that this would change at the next given opportunity.

"Well, how do things go with Itachi?"

Sakura's eyes snapped up to catch Tsunade's honey orbs curiously gazing at her. For not the first time Sakura felt as if the Godaime could read her mind and couldn't help but wonder just how Tsunade always managed to have the perfect timing.

"Surprisingly well, actually." Sakura admitted as she plopped a cherry tomato into her mouth, trying to look as nonchalant as she could. "I think we finally entered neutral grounds, though there still are times when I feel like wringing his neck."

Tsunade rolled her eyes as she leaned back in her seat, not the least bit surprised at Sakura's answer. "Sounds promising. When do you plan on going on missions again?"

Sakura in return shrugged. "I'm not sure yet, but I planned on taking one sometime next month. Whether it's a solo one or a mission with Team 7, I am not quite sure yet."

Tsunade nodded her head, knowing how hard it was to be an active kunoichi whilst working at the hospital. Sakura however now had it even harder because she was the Hokage's advisor and as Itachi's advisor, she didn't have as much time to go on missions as she may have had before.

"Just try to stay active, even if it means that you take a c-rank mission so that you don't get out of shape." The blonde Hokage advised her as she took another bite of her cookie, allowing the sweet taste to take some of her stress and worries away.

Sakura gave her teacher a curt nod. "I know. It's just that-"

Before Sakura could end her sentence however, the door of her office was thrown open, revealing a concerned nurse. Her skin was pale and her eyes were wide, her usually white gown covered in smears of blood as she held a hand over her chest in order to calm herself.

"Tsunade-sama, Sakura-san!" She panted, droplets of sweat running down her forehead as she looked at the surprised duo with urgent eyes. "There's an emergency!"

Sakura and Tsunade exchanged a curious look before the two instantly abandoned their food and rushed out of Sakura's office, following the distressed nurse.

"What happened?" Tsunade asked as the three rounded a corner, her voice stern as she rolled up her sleeves.

"There was a fire in the civilian part of the village. There are six patients in a critical condition and five others who are seriously injured but stable." She swiftly explained as they reached the Hospital's entrance, and at the sight that greeted her Sakura felt her heart drop.

The entire hall was packed, nurses and medics were rushing from side to side as they tried to calm distressed family members or treated the injured.

"Damn." Sakura heard Tsunade curse under her breath before she turned to look at the antsy nurse. "Get Ruko-san, Yura-san and Mito-san. Tell them to meet me in the ER. Sakura, you and the rest treat the less serious injured. After that, meet me in the ER and lend me a hand." Tsunade commanded, and Sakura nodded before she darted off.

The pinkette did as told and moved to help the other medics and nurses out when a small, abandoned boy at the entrance door caught her eye.

He seemed to be not older than five, his large, terrified eyes taking in the sight in front of him as silent tears streamed down his face. Sakura's heart gave a painful jolt as she walked over to the young child, careful not to make any sudden movements to scare him.

When he caught sight of Sakura approaching him he took a few steps backwards, clearly frightened as the pinkette slowed down.

"You don't have to be scared." Sakura gently cooed, expression softening as she went into a crouching position. "I am here to help you."

Sakura extended her hand with a soft smile and watched how the young boys eyes moved from her face to her hand and then back to her face.

Just when Sakura thought that he wouldn't take it and was about to lower it, the young boy's face scrunched up into a pained expression before he threw himself at Sakura with a cry, holding her with all his might.

Sakura instantly held him close to her as the young boy buried his face into her neck and cried his little heart out. She rubbed his back comfortingly and gently shushed the child, feeling his rapid heart-beat through his chest.

"Shhh, it's okay you're safe now." Sakura hushed the young boy, her heart breaking with every sob that rocked his small little body. "I'll take care of you."

The young boy continued to wail and vehemently shook his head, clinging onto her doctors gown with his tiny shaking hands. "No, you have to save them first!" He wailed, taking Sakura by surprise.

"Save who?" Sakura asked as she slightly pulled back to look at his tear-stricken face. His eyes were red and slightly swollen from all the crying as he looked at her, still clutching her clothes.

"Mommy and Yuma-chan!" He choked out, hiccuping right after. "They're still there together with Aiko-kun and uncle Saito!"

Sakura's eyes flashed dangerously as she realized what the young boy was saying. It seemed like his family was still stuck somewhere in their home and the young boy somehow managed to escape on his own to call for help.

Sakura knew that chances were high that they wouldn't make it until the Hokage would have sent out a team to rescue them but after taking one look at the child's tear-stricken face, she knew that she had no choice but to go there on her own.

"Can you tell me where you live?" Sakura asked the young boy who wiped his eyes with his forearm and gave her a small nod.

"I live close to the market, right in front of the great Fountain." The boy told her, and Sakura nodded as she offered him a small smile before she turned around to call for a medic.

A middle-aged woman called Rika-san, if Sakura remembered correctly, rushed to her side upon hearing the pinkette's call. "Yes Sakura-san?"

"I'll need to go and check on his family. Please have someone tell the Hokage that I need back-up and that the fire is located close to the Fountain at the Market in the civilian part of the village." Sakura told her and Rika instantly nodded before her eyes fell onto the still shaking little boy.

"Got it. I'll take him somewhere we he can calm down and call the Hokage right after." Rika informed her before she reached out to take the child from Sakura's arms.

The pinkette offered him one last reassuring smile before she darted out of the Hospital and right towards the civilian part of the village.

She fastened her pace with the help of her chakra and rushed through the busy streets of Konoha, mentally preparing for what may expect her.

It would take her ten minutes until she reached the Fountain if she kept her speed up and maybe another five to find the boy's family. She just hoped that she wouldn't be too late and would reach them before the fire did.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura's head whipped to the right as she caught sight of Shisui a few meters away from her, looking at the pinkette with a concerned frown as he fastened his pace to catch up with her. "What's gotten you in such a hurry?"

Sakura jumped on a roof and mirrored Shisui's concerned expression, inwardly grateful that she stumbled across the Uchiha as she turned to look at him. "Fire in the civilian district. Some are still stuck at their homes waiting for the rescue team."

Shisui's expression turned grave as he as well fastened his pace. He as well knew that it would take some time until the Hokage would be notified and able to get a rescue team to the location of the fire. If the fire wasn't in the civilian district, passing Shinobi would have already managed to get there and help to put it out themselves but since it was rare for a Shinobi to be in the civilian district, it would take some more minutes for the Hokage to gather them and for them to reach it.

Shisui and Sakura kept on running in silence until Sakura finally caught sight of black smoke in the far distance. She pushed herself to go even faster, Shisui following her like her own shadow as they reached the source of the fire not too many minutes later.

Sakura slowed down when she noticed that it weren't just two homes that were on fire, but instead around five that were being swallowed by the flames. Sakura and Shisui exchanged a look before they jumped down onto the ground next to the Fountain where a group of villagers have gathered, all of them either trying to treat the injured ones whom they haven't been able to take to the hospital yet, calming their crying children or looking for their family members.

Sakura quickly scanned the crowd to ensure that no one was seriously injured before she scanned the burning homes with a heavy heart. The little boy said that his home was the one right in front of the fountain and if it was the one she was currently looking at, they would have to hurry.

"Everyone, calm down!" Shisui called as he tried to gain the villagers attention, his expression grave. "I need you to tell us if there are people still stuck in the houses so that we can get them out!"

It seemed to work and the villagers turned to look at the duo with wide, hopeful eyes.

"I think that no one is left inside, but we're unable to put out the fire! If we don't hurry all of our homes are going to burn down!" A woman yelled as she held her infant closer to her chest, eyes filled with panic before Shisui nodded.

"Get away from the fire, backup is on their way to get you to the hospital. We are going to check if anyone's left inside and try to put out the fire." Shisui informed them and watched in content as the villagers didn't waste any time to do as he told them to and moved to get to the outer part of the district.

Sakura shot Shisui a small yet grateful smile before she turned to look at the house in front of her. "This is the one where they are still stuck in. You check out the remaining ones to ensure that no one is left while I'll try to get them out of there." Sakura told Shisui and he instantly nodded, his eyes turning red as the Sharingan bled to life.

"Take care. If you need any help, call me and I'll be right there." He told her before he took off.

Sakura didn't waste any time and did the same, determinedly running towards the burning house.

It still wasn't fully engulfed by the flames and the only part that was on fire seemed to be the right half. Sakura only hoped that the boy's family wasn't in the burning part as she kicked the door open and covered her mouth in order to inhale as little smoke as she could.

Here went nothing.

Sakura entered the home after she took a deep breath and scanned her surroundings. The smoke was shrouding her vision but so far, she couldn't make any person out as she walked into what seemed to be the living-room.

"Is anyone there?" She called as she rushed through the hallway, pushing the doors open one by one in hope of finding anyone but so far the house seemed abandoned.

Sakura felt the smoke scratch against her throat as she walked deeper into the house where the fire was located at. She covered her mouth with her forearm, trying to inhale as little smoke as she could in the process and scanned the fire-lit end of the corridor.

Mentally cursing, Sakura thought of a way to stop the fire from spreading but when a muffled cry reached her ears, her body tensed. It couldn't have possibly been her imagination, Sakura was sure of it and scanned the corridor.

It sounded like the source of the cry was right behind her but when she turned around to look, she couldn't make anything out. Just as she was about to turn around and look through the rooms once more, another cry, this time louder, reached her ears and this time, it sounded as if it came from right below her feet.

Sakura's eyes fell onto the wooden floor as the realization hit her and without wasting any more time, Sakura channeled the chakra into her right foot before she slammed her heel onto the ground, successfully breaking it in the process.

The pinkette prepared herself as she jumped through the hole and landed on the ground with the grace of a cat, a series of gasps echoing through the small basement as she did so.

Sakura's eyes instantly snapped upwards and when her eyes fell on the scene in front of her, they widened out of shock at the sight that greeted her.

Huddled in the corner of the room was a young woman who seemed to be in her late twenties, her wide, frightened eyes fixed on Sakura as she tightened her hold on the injured boy in her arms.

He was still breathing but it looked like he got wounded by the knife as well, if his blood-covered clothes were anything to go by.

Standing in the middle of the room was a man, his blonde hair tousled and eyes wide with fury upon seeing Sakura. He was holding a young, blonde-haired girl that looked no older than ten by her throat and had a knife pointed at her chest. She seemed to be close to loosing conscious and Sakura knew that if she had come mere five seconds later, he would have already dug the knife into her small body.

"Who the hell are you?" The man hollered as he pulled the girl closer so that he was right in front of her, the knife now pointed at her back. She was looking at Sakura with swollen eyes, her vision unfocused as she fought to breathe and when the man shifted the girl in front of him, Sakura was able to make out another man on the ground right behind them.

"Release the girl." Sakura returned as she channeled her chakra into her fists, ready to strike at the next given opportunity as her eyes sparkled dangerously in the dim light. "Now."

The man in return shook his head, a Cheshire grin tugging his lips upwards as he released a high chuckle. "You actually think that I would let you take away my source of entertainment? How naive." He warned Sakura, eyes burning as he openly sized her up as his tongue wetting his lower lip. "Then again, I am always open for a trade. I am certain that you could entertain me just as well, if not even _better_ than this whore did."

Sakura heard the woman in the corner whimper as she looked at Sakura with pleading eyes, the pinkette not looking the slightest bit affected by his words as she held her ground.

"I don't like to repeat myself." Sakura told him, trying to stay as composed as she could for the girls sake. "If you don't release her now, I will personally ensure that you won't leave this house alive."

The man merely continued to grin, his eyes darkening out of pleasure upon hearing her words as he hummed.

"Challenge accepted."

As soon as he uttered these words, Sakura's eyes caught sight of his grip on the knife tightening and it was then that she darted forwards. Just as the tip was about to bury itself into the poor girls back Sakura was able to pull her body away from him, his choke-grip on the small blonde only slightly loosening as Sakura used the opening to kick him in the ribs.

The man grunted as he stumbled a few steps backwards and let go of the shaken girl, Sakura instantly moving her behind her as she looked at the woman that was holding the injured boy.

"Get behind me." Sakura called as she once more charged towards the man who was trying to get to them, moving in between them as she blocked the knife that was swung at them with her forearm.

She hissed slightly as the knife sliced through the flesh of her forearm, leaving a deep gash as she punched him straight in the face with her free hand. He was hurled at the wall with a yelp and dropped the knife in the process, the metal object sliding over the ground into the left corner, out of reach.

Sakura used this moment to kneel down in front of the injured man on the ground, moving him onto his back. Blood was oozing out of a wound close to his chest and Sakura swiftly checking his pulse. He was still alive, but if she wouldn't hurry he wouldn't make it.  
"Sakura-chan!"

The distant call eased Sakura's heavy heart as her head snapped to the hole in the ceiling. "We're down here!" She called, and not even a moment later Shisui jumped through the hole that she had created, Sharingan activated.

"Are you alright?" He asked, concern lacing his voice as he took in the sight of the mess in the basement. The woman was standing a few meters next to him, carrying the injured boy and holding the blonde girl tightly against her body as her eyes fell on the Uchiha.

"I am." Sakura assured him as her eyes moved to rest on her attacker who was trying to pick himself up. He was holding his bloody and most likely broken nose as he tried to move back on his feet. "He attacked them and injured both him and the boy."

Shisui's eyes narrowed as he looked at Sakura's attacker and took in his current state. Judging by the way he barely managed to remain standing on his two feet without the wall's support, he wouldn't pose any actual threat anymore.

"Got it, but we should hurry and get out of here before the fire reaches this part of the hallway." Shisui told her, earning a nod from Sakura as she tried to move the unconscious male onto her back so that she could carry him out.

Shisui turned to the woman and allowed his Sharingan to fade out of existence so that he wouldn't further scare them. "The only way out is back through the hole. I'll need to carry you to get out so that your son can get his injuries treated."

He could see the hesitation in her eyes before she reluctantly nodded. "Please, take the children first." She whispered, handing him the boy with shaking hands. Shisui moved him so that he was leaning against the right side of his neck before he knelt down and scooped the young, still visibly shaken girl up into his strong arms.

"I'll be back in a moment."

And with that, he jumped up and out of the basement, leaving Sakura behind with the woman and the injured man that she was carrying on her back. She moved to stand next to the woman and offered her a small smile which she didn't return. Instead, her eyes were fixed on the man on the opposite side of the room, who was still struggling to shake off his dizziness.

"Monster." The young mother breathed, tears rolling down her bruised cheek as her body started to shake with fury. "You sick monster!"

Sakura pursed her lips as she looked at the man that was now looking at the duo with a bloody grin. Whereas she could fully understand the woman's anger that was directed at their attacker, it was not a good idea to provoke him when they were still not safe especially since Sakura was on her own now without Shisui here to help her in case he decided to attack again, regardless of his current state.

"Come on, let's not provoke him." Sakura mumbled as she moved to stand in front of the woman so that she could shield her from his eyes. She could sense the way the woman tensed but reluctantly bit her tongue, much to Sakura's relief.

It seemed like the damage was already done though, for an eerie chuckle suddenly echoed through the basement, causing the two women to stiffen upon hearing the sound.

"You fool. Do you actually think that I'll let you go that easily, _love_?" He asked, the sudden shift in the air causing Sakura to mentally prepare herself. "If I go down, so will you."

Sakura was protectively standing in front of her, prepared to fight him off if he decided to come at them once more but when she suddenly felt a chakra signature brush against her own, her eyes widened.

"Don't!"

The moment she turned around, intending to move the woman out of harms way it was already too late. He was already standing behind her and within the split of a second had his knife rammed into her back. The woman gasped as the metal slid through her body, wide eyes fixed on Sakura's equally shocked face as a hot, searing pain washed over her.

The man grinned as he twisted the knife, earning a chocked yelp from her before he removed the knife from her body. The woman instantly collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air as the man took a step towards Sakura, who was still holding the injured man on her back. She needed to get them out of there as soon as she could but now that she knew that the one in front of her was a shinobi, this task would prove to be harder than she initially thought.

"Now to you." He said, eyes gleaming in the light as he moved towards her. "I can't wait to watch you beg for your life, sweetheart."

Sakura steadied herself as she tightened her hold on the man's arms that were wrapped around her neck from behind, making sure that he wouldn't slip from her hold as she channeled her chakra into her feet.

She would have to fight him with some extra baggage it seemed, for she knew that if she would place him somewhere on the ground, their attacker would most likely take advantage of him as well.

Sakura knitted her brows, intending to charge forwards before the man in front of her suddenly stilled, his earlier smug expression falling before he fell onto his knees, revealing Shisui behind him.

"Shisui." Sakura breathed, grateful for his timing as the Uchiha's eyes fell on her.

"The back-up has arrived, they'll take care of him and the fire. Let's get out of here."

Sakura nodded as she shifted the man's weight on her back and jumped through the hole right after Shisui. The duo swiftly made their way out of the burning house, careful not to inhale too much smoke before they reached the exit.

As soon as they were back outside, Sakura and Shisui moved towards the group of medics that were already expecting them, the children that they had previously saved getting already treated by two of them.

"Haruno-senpai!" One of them called as Sakura and Shisui landed several feet away from them, the pinkette slowly easing the injured man onto the ground. Shisui followed suit and the group of medics instantly went to work, trying to patch the injured duo up as Shisui turned to look at the squad leader that Itachi had sent as back-up.

"There is a man in the basement. He is under a genjutsu and to be locked away for interrogation." He told them, and the squad leader nodded before he signalized his man to follow him inside.

Shisui then moved to stand next to Sakura who was kneeling on the ground next to the two injured bodies and informed the medics of what exactly happened.

Shisui rested a hand on Sakura's shoulder, causing the pinkette to look up at the Uchiha with tired eyes. "We should get them to the hospital, they'll take care of the rest." He told her, and the pinkette instantly nodded, knowing that it was the best thing to do.

Sakura informed the medics and together, the group transported the small group to the hospital where a group of nurses and medics were already expecting them.

For the following six hours, all Sakura did was perform emergency surgeries with Tsunade and Shizune's aid. It was beyond exhausting but in the end, their hard work paid off. They successfully managed to keep the trio away from death's door and even though it was a close call, all that mattered was that they managed to save them.

When Sakura finally left the surgery-room, Tsunade and Shizune having left an hour ago already, she slid down the wall next to the door. She had a nurse tell both the boy that had informed her about the fire and his sister that they managed to free that their family was safe and would recover so that she could take a small break. The nurse would watch over them until either their mother or their uncle would wake up and Shisui had left hours ago to report everything to Itachi.

Sakura pulled her knees upwards so that she could rest her forehead on top of them, closing her eyes as a small groan left her lips. She would have to write a report about today's incident as well and knowing Itachi, he would probably want it as soon as possible, what would leave her with very little sleep.

In the end, Sakura figured that the best thing to do was to write the report as soon as possible. If she were to finish it within the next hour, she would be able to have a good night's rest without having to worry about Anbu guards waking her in the middle of the night just to reminding her that Itachi needed her report.

The pinkette reluctantly picked herself up from the ground and made her way towards her office, determined to take care of this stupid report in order to get some rest.

As soon as she reached it, Sakura sat down behind her desk and went to work. What she originally hoped would only take her an hour turned out to take her even more and after two hours, Sakura found herself only halfway through, much to her dismay. She already felt her eyelids droop as she struggled to keep her vision focused on the paper in front of her, holding the pen firmly so that it wouldn't slip.

A knock echoed through her office and assuming that it was probably just another medic or nurse that wanted to inform her about another patients status, she called them in without bothering to glance upwards.

When the door opened and closed right after however, Sakura found herself compelled to look up just to come face to face with the last person she expected.

"Mikoto-san?" Sakura said, surprised at the rather sudden visit of the Uchiha matriarch as she placed her pen onto her desk and shot the black-haired woman a small, surprised smile. "I didn't expect you this late."

Mikoto smiled as she made her way towards Sakura, dark eyes taking in her office before they fell back on Sakura. "I was actually looking for Tsunade-sama but I just found out that she's already left, so I decided to pay you a visit instead." The Uchiha matriarch explained. "I hope that I am not bothering you this late."

Sakura swiftly shook her head as she run a hand through her long locks, hoping that she didn't look as a mess as she felt. "Of course not, Mikoto-san. Please have a seat." She said, motioning towards the chair opposite of hers.

Mikoto sat down onto the chair and shot Sakura a kind smile. "Thanks dear. I heard that you've had quite a rough day, shouldn't you get some sleep?" She inquired, concern etched onto her features as she looked at the pinkette that was sitting across of her.

"There are still a few things that I have to take care of before I can get some sleep." Sakura told the Uchiha matriarch, a small sigh passing her lips as she briefly glanced down at the report in front of her that was innocently laying on the surface of her desk. "Things that I'd rather get over with as fast as possible so that I don't have to take care of them tomorrow morning."

Mikoto offered her a small, knowing smile. "Sounds familiar. I take that tomorrow is your day off then?"

Sakura nodded. "As long as there are no emergencies that Tsunade-shishou can't take care of herself, it is. I have to give my report about today's incident to the Hokage tomorrow morning and knowing Naruto and Sasuke, they probably already planned on abducting me to the Training field right after I did." She told Mikoto, a small fond smile playing on her lips as the thought of her teammates.

It's been quite some time sine she had gotten the opportunity to actually spent a whole day with them without having to worry about any emergencies or calls from the Hokage, but she knew that they probably were just as busy as she was.

Sasuke with Clan-business and Naruto with his training to become the next Hokage.

"You three really are inseparable." Mikoto mused, happy that her son had such reliable friends that he could always count on. She wished that she could say the same for her eldest son, though. "Have you-"

Mikoto got cut off by the sudden flickering off the light before everything turned dark, taking both women by surprise. Sakura remained still, waiting for the electricity to return but when it didn't, she frowned.

"It seems like there's a blackout." Mikoto mumbled as she turned to look at Sakura, who looked out of t he window with a concerned expression.

"Only that we are the only ones affected, it seems." Sakura told Mikoto and as the Uchiha followed her gaze, she was surprised to find that the rest of the village was as bright as ever. Sakura swiftly stood up from her seat and clenched her fists.

She had a really bad feeling about this. If the electricity was indeed cut and wouldn't return on its own, she needed to keep the hospital in check. There were patients that were attached to machines that monitored their vitals and without electricity, they needed to be under the supervision of a nurse or another medic.

"Mikoto-san, please stay here. I have to inform the other about our current situation." Sakura told Mikoto, who merely shook her head in return as she stood up from her seat.

"I'll accompany you." Mikoto told her, lifting a hand as Sakura was about to protest. "This way, word will spread faster and besides, even though I know that you are a capable kunoichi I would like to offer my help."

Sakura didn't like the thought of Mikoto coming with her. She had a bad feeling about the electricity cut and since the pinkette attracted trouble, she would rather have Mikoto safely locked away in her office.

"Alright." Sakura eventually yielded, though reluctantly. "Please stay close, I feel like there is something off about the entire blackout."

Mikoto nodded, giving Sakura a grateful smile before the duo left her office. They made their way through the empty corridors, Sakura extending her chakra to scan the rooms for any abnormalities as they made their way towards the workers-quarter.

Whenever they passed a medic or a nurse, Sakura was pleased to find that they already tended to the patients mostly affected by the blackout and told them to keep a close eye on everyone until the power returned.

"It's remarkable how calm and sorted the hospital staff acts in such a situation." Mikoto noted as they rounded a corner, her eyes falling on another nurse that was helping a patient back to their room. "Not to mention how they listen to every order of yours without any complaint."

Sakura shot Mikoto a small smile. "Most of the staff was trained for situations such as this and well, I am very fortunate that they trust my word to such an extend." She confessed, not catching the way Mikoto's eyes gleamed with approval of her answer.

She had halfheartedly expected Sakura to say that they merely listened to her word because of her status as Tsunade's apprentice, as she had done many times in the past, but she was pleasantly surprised to hear that the pinkette finally acknowledged her own skills and position, regardless of her relation to Tsunade.

They were almost done with checking the second floor and intended to go up to the third when all of sudden, the speakers turned on and emitted a humming sound.

Sakura instantly stopped dead in her tracks, extending her arm in front of Mikoto as her narrowed eyes lifted to the speakers. The noise increased, echoing through the hospital floors and causing everyone's attention to snap up before it died down into a small buzzing sound.

First, there was nothing. Then-

"Haruno-san, Uchiha-san." The speakers cackled, causing Sakura to tense. "It's an honor to finally meet Konoha's most valuable women."

Sakura clenched her fists, emerald eyes burning as her expression turned serious. "I wish that I could say the same, but I am afraid that I don't know your name." She spoke, voice loud and clear.

She didn't know where he was, nor how he was able to see them, but she knew for a fact that he was able to hear her just fine.

This turned out to be true for the speakers emitted a deep chuckle, the sound adding to the eeriness that the darkness of the hospital emitted.

"As much as I would like for you to know my name, I am afraid that this is not the right time for you to know yet." He drawled and Sakura merely lifted a brow, indifferent by his indication that they would meet in the future once more.

"I take that there is a reason for your little show, so why don't you tell me what you want so that we can already get it over with?" Sakura told him, not even bothering to beat around the bush. She was tired, had her staff and patients to worry about and needed to make sure that Mikoto would stay unharmed.

She didn't need to play along to whoever it was that caused this blackout's little game, she liked to take the more direct route.

"But where would be the fun in that, _Sakura-chan_?" He asked, and Sakura stiffened. "I would merely like to get to know you and Mikoto-san better."

Sakura felt Mikoto rest a comforting hand onto her shoulder as the Uchiha matriarch moved to step forwards, expression clearly showing her displeasure.

"And what would your reason for your interest in us be?" Mikoto asked, her voice calm and yet her words were laced with an underlining threat. "I fear that you may get disappointed."

The speakers once more hummed, the one behind them clearly pleased by Mikoto's words. "I doubt that one of you could disappoint me, though Sakura-chan once came close." He admitted, and Sakura frowned.

The duo remained silent, waiting for him to elaborate and when he did, the smile in his voice became audible.

"She survived."

And with that, his voice disappeared and a shrill siren-like sound echoed through the speakers, causing Sakura and Mikoto to cover their ears. The red emergency-lights of the hospital brightened the dark corridors and Sakura instantly grabbed Mikoto's forearm before she pulled her towards the stairs.

"Everyone, stay inside the rooms!" Sakura yelled over the noise, the nurses and medics instantly doing as told as Sakura and Mikoto rushed down the stairs. She trusted the other medics to tell the ones on the other floors to do the same but knowing them, they already did so the moment they heard the strangers voice over the speakers.

"Where are we going?" Mikoto asked, easily keeping up with Sakura as they entered the ground floor.

Sakura heaved a breath of relief as the noise finally died down and the Hospital was once more drowned with silence, the red lights still blinking in a steady rhythm.

"I'm trying to get you out of here. Whoever the one behind the blackout is, is also the one who poisoned me and tried to get to Itachi, so I need you to tell him that he mustn't come here, regardless of the circumstances." Sakura told Mikoto, who in return seemed not too fond of her words.

"I won't leave you alone. If he really is the one who poisoned you, he will most likely use your life as a leverage and if he does so, my son will waste no time and come to get you out of here." Mikoto reasoned, and Sakura shook her head as she turned another corner.

"That's exactly why I need you to tell him to stay away. Tell him to send Sasuke, Naruto or Kakashi instead so that they can back me up while I'll try to take care of whoever it is behind all of this." Sakura told her, and at that Mikoto pursed her lips into a thin line.

Whereas she didn't like the idea of leaving Sakura, she did see reason in the pinkette's words so she decided to remain silent.

When the two finally reached the hospitals entrance, Sakura was not surprised to see that the doors were shut close, most likely locked even.

The medic released her hold on Mikoto's forearm and channeled her chakra into her fist, the bright green glow that engulfed it mirroring her burning eyes.

Sakura then hurled it at the glass-door and when her fist made contact with it, she found herself surprised at it's resistance. The door didn't budge and her fist was met with a chakra barrier that blocked it from her.

"What's wrong?" Mikoto asked as she watched Sakura remove her fist and how her chakra slowly faded out of existence.

Before Sakura could answer Mikoto however, the speakers once more came to life. A tsk-ing sound filled the entrance hall and Sakura, now beyond annoyed, straightened as she glared at the speakers.

"I am sorry, but I can't allow Mikoto-san to leave just yet." The voice told them, not sounding the least bit sorry and instead, rather mocking. "Though your effort is noted, Sakura-chan."

Sakura didn't bother to hide her displeasure as she clenched her fists out of anger. "If you want to use us to lure the Hokage to the hospital, I'll have to disappoint you. He is not as easily fooled as you may think."

He once more made a disapproving sound. "We'll see about that. How about we play a little to pass some time, hm?"

And with that, Sakura suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet violently shake, almost throwing her off balance as she pushed Mikoto onto the ground, the kunai that was aimed for her head just barely missing her.

The shaking didn't stop and when a series of Shuriken and Kunai were flying towards them, Sakura knew that she needed to get them out of there. She looked to her right to see that Mikoto was already looking at her, expression determined as a silent message passed through them.

With one small nod from Sakura, the two moved back onto their feet, channeling their chakra into their soles as they darted back towards the right wing of the Hospital.

Kunai's and Shuriken continued to fly out of seemingly nowhere and even though Sakura tried her best to shield Mikoto from them, she was swiftly reminded by none other than Mikoto herself that she as well used to be a kunoichi.

The dark-haired woman dodged the weapons with the grace of a feline, leaving Sakura to watch out for herself as they reached the door that lead to the emergency rooms. As soon as they reached it, unharmed, Sakura intended to shut the door behind them but when she moved to push the door, a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist in a death grip.

The pinkette's eyes snapped up to see a masked person in front of her, a chakra scalpel in their hand as they aimed it at Sakura's neck.

Sakura's eyes widened for the split of a second before she blocked the knife with her forearm, pushing against her attackers wrist long enough for her to lift her knee and harshly ram it into their stomach.

A grunt followed her move but Sakura didn't waste any time and slammed her elbow down onto his neck before she gave him another kick that sent him flying against the wall.

She turned around to look for Mikoto just in time to see her slam her fist into one of her attackers masked face, causing him to stagger backwards and Sakura to smirk.

It seemed like not only was Mikoto a kind mother, but also a total badass kunoichi when she needed to.

"We should go back to my office. This is one of the most secured rooms that I doubt he can break into and once there we can try to figure out what to do." Sakura suggested, earning a nod from Mikoto before the two of them started to make their way back towards her office.

When they wanted to go up the stairs however, they were greeted by another group of masked attackers and slowly but surely, Sakura was really getting annoyed by them.

"You know, I am really not a fan of your little minions!" Sakura called as she channeled her chakra into the heel of her foot and slammed it back onto the ground, causing the entire floor to shake.

Almost instantly, the small group of five scattered and each charged towards them. Sakura channeled her chakra back into her fists and blindly grabbed the first one she could get her hands on before she roughly hurled him into the stairs.

She then dodged a fist that came flying towards her right cheek and planted her palm onto the ground before she swiped her leg over the ground and knocked the next one down.

A grunt of pain caught her attention and Sakura's head whipped to the right to see that Mikoto was holding her right side with a pained expression as she fought off one of her attackers.

Sakura swiftly darted towards her and swung her fist at the one that attacked Mikoto, the kunai that he was holding covered in what she guessed was her blood.

In these moments she wished that she could use her jutsus but since it was too dangerous to use them whilst being at the hospital and with Mikoto, she would have to rely on her chakra only.

Sakura moved in front of Mikoto and fought off another masked minion, growling as she kicked one of them right in the ribs, sending him flying several meters backwards.

"Sakura, behind you!"

Sakura swiftly grabbed the wrist of her attacker and twisted it before she used her free hand to punch him straight into the face like Mikoto has previously done. Just when she was about to release her hold on him and tend Mikoto however, she felt the air getting knocked out of her lungs and her body being thrown against the nearest wall.

Sakura inhaled sharply as her body harshly collided against it, her head hitting the wall first before her body slid down the wall.

Her vision blurred and a sudden stinging sensation spread itself in her abdomen as she fell onto the ground. She gritted her teeth and tried to move back onto her knees by supporting her own weight on her elbows but as soon as she moved her body for even the smallest of bits, the dizziness only increased.

"Sakura!" She heard Mikoto's concerned call, her head throbbing as she tried to make out the dark-haired woman's location through her blurry vision. When she finally caught sight of Mikoto who was now backed into a corner, Sakura knew that she needed to act.

Quick.

"Duck!" She yelled and when Mikoto did as told, Sakura slammed her balled fist against the wall next to her.

The entire ceiling started shake until parts of it broke and Sakura used that moment of distraction to force her protesting body up once more and to charge towards them. This time, she allowed her mind to shut down and trusted her instinct as she roughly grabbed one of the minion's back of his shirt and pulled him away from Mikoto. She then rammed her left elbow into the others ribs and twisted her body so that she could properly kick him into his stomach.

The remaining two were instantly floored and Sakura swiftly crouched down next to Mikoto, who looked at Sakura with a mixture of relief and concern. Sakura's temple was bleeding and her lip was split and even though Mikoto knew that she herself was not in an all too god condition either, her son's teammate had just saved her life once more.

"Let's go." Sakura whispered, voice slightly rough as she wrapped Mikoto's arm round her shoulders and made her way up the stairs as fast as she could.

They managed to reach the second floor with no more incidents and with the exception of Mikoto's occasional wince whenever Sakura's white coat brushed against her wound, there was only silence.

Sakura then led Mikoto to one of the labors where they analyzed the blood samples and locked the door behind herself even though she knew that they could easily break through it if they wanted to.

She gently helped Mikoto sit onto a chair and sighed as she run a blood-covered hand through her rosy locks. They needed a plan. Fast.

Sakura examined the injury and was glad to see that it wasn't as serious as she had feared it was. The tip of his kunai had only slightly cut into the flesh and Sakura knew that even though it probably hurt, it would heal on its own.

"It's nothing big, but it still needs to get bandaged." Sakura told Mikoto, her voice barely above a whisper as she offered the Uchiha matriarch a small smile that she didn't return.

Mikoto seemed beyond concerned and didn't even bother to hide it. Sakura knew that her concern was directed at her and even though she wanted nothing more than to tell her that she was fine, she knew that lying to her wouldn't help the matter at all.

"You should treat yourself first, you seem more hurt than I." Mikoto told Sakura, but the pinkette merely shook her head.

"I can't." She confessed, much to Mikoto's confusion. "If I waste my chakra on healing myself, it'll leave us with more problems that solutions."

"You have a plan." It was more of a statement than a question and Sakura couldn't help but smile at Mikoto's attentiveness.

"I do." She admitted before her smile turned grim. "Though I am pretty sure that you won't like it."

At that, Mikoto arched a daring brow. She accepted the compress and placed it over the bleeding kunai injury, the blood that soaked her usual dress having already ruined most of it.

"Well then, enlighten me dear."

* * *

"Did you take care of him?"

The shinobi in front of him straightened as he gave Itachi a sharp nod. "We did. He'll stay in Konoha's dungeon until he's been interrogated and judged by the council." He informed the Hokage, and Itachi gave the man in front of him a nod.

"Very well then, have Hatake interrogate him." Itachi ordered as he leaned back in his seat. "I expect his report by dusk tomorrow. You are dismissed."

"Understood, Hokage-sama!" The man in front of him returned before he gave him a short bow and left his office.

Itachi exhaled deeply before his eyes shifted to the other person in the room, his usual stoic expression slowly fading into a more relaxed one. "What do you think?"

The other person merely sighed as they slumped into the seat in front of him, the dark shadows beneath his eyes not going unnoticed by Itachi. "I don't know. It may be a coincidence, but it could have also been planned. Whereas he did attack Sakura, she wasn't his main target and when he revealed that he possessed shinobi skills and stabbed his wife, he never tried to flee the scene before the squad-leaders arrive with the help of gen- or nin-jutsu."

Itachi pursed his lips as he carefully took in his cousins words. The involvement of his advisor seemed to be a mere coincidence and yet, he wondered just how she always managed to get dragged into such situations.

For the past few hours all Itachi has done was listen to the medics and back-up Shinobi's reports whilst ensuring that every injured and non-injured villager was being taken care of. He had to make sure that their homes would get rebuild as soon as possible whilst trying to find suitable accommodations for every family that was affected by the fire.

It sounded easier than it actually was and even though it was a task that he was not unfamiliar with, it still costed him a lot of nerves and bit at his patience.

"Maybe we should-"

"Hokage-sama!"

Itachi and Shisui both looked to the door to see one of the guards enter his office, expression grave. Under normal circumstances Itachi would have not appreciated such behavior but once he took in the way the guards eyes failed to meet his own, he knew that something was wrong.

"Speak." Itachi curtly ordered as he straightened in his seat. Whatever the guard wanted to tell him seemed important and judging by the way he hesitated, Itachi most likely wouldn't like the news either.

"The emergency button at the hospital has just been pushed, Sir." The guard told them, seemingly uneasy as his gaze darted between Shisui and Itachi.

Itachi narrowed his eyes as Shisui frowned, the temperature in the room dropping palpably. The emergency button was only to be pushed in the most dangerous situations and when the hospital needed back-up but so far, it never occurred.

That was, until today.

"Who pushed it?" This time it was Shisui who asked, knowing very well that the only ones with such a button attached to their desks were Tsunade and Sakura. The mere fact that someone pushed it in the first place was unsettling enough since both were very strong kunoichi that usually managed to solve any problem thrown at them on their own.

This time, the guard visibly gulped and clenched his fists behind his back to the extend that his knuckles turned white, and Itachi felt a sense of apprehension settle over him.

"The button in Sakura-sama's office was pushed." He started, and Itachi narrowed his eyes sharply, the alarm bells in his head ringing loudly. "But according to the chakra signature we received, it wasn't her that pushed the button."

At that, Shisui looked concerned. "But aren't Tsunade-sama and Sakura-chan the only ones who know of the buttons?" he asked, looking at Itachi for confirmation who merely nodded in return.

"They do." Itachi confirmed, his voice deadly calm as he kept his eyes fixed on the fidgeting guard in front of him. "Who was the one who pushed the button?"

The guard closed his eyes, seemingly preparing himself for the worst before he deeply inhaled. He knew that his words would most likely cause an uproar and he could consider himself lucky if he were to survive the following five minutes.

He inhaled, then-

"Your mother, Uchiha Mikoto pressed the button Hokage-sama."

At that, Itachi's eyes bled crimson.

* * *

Sakura bit her tongue to prevent herself from crying out of pain. The hot searing sensation that shot through her veins together with the steadily humming sound that the speakers emitted was the only thing that kept her conscious.

"Let's see how long it takes for the Hokage to finally join your little friends outside." The voice in the speakers boomed as Sakura glared up at them.

Apparently, Tsunade and the rest of her team were already outside and tried to think of a way to get in and whereas there was still no trace of Itachi, Sakura doubted that he would actually come.

"I told you already." Sakura rasped out before she spit the blood that filled her mouth onto the ground in front of her, expression grim. "He won't come and get me now that he has his mother back."

Another zap shot through her and this time, Sakura pulled against the metallic shackles that kept her immobilized on the chair, gritting her teeth as she closed her eyes and took the pain.

It went like this for the past hour ever since they managed to catch her on the third floor in the southern wing of the hospital.

At first, they demanded to know where Mikoto was and when Sakura refused to answer, they started this entire thing. When they searched the entire hospital and couldn't find her, they put one and one together and eventually concluded that Sakura used last of her chakra to teleport her out of the hospital and back home with the help of a jutsu.

"I did strike you as bold, but not as naive." The voice mocked, clearly taking joy out of seeing Sakura suffer like this. "Do you actually think that the man that carried you all the way from Suna back to Konoha just to save your life won't come this time?"

At that, Sakura stilled and remained silent.

"I see that you finally begin to understand." The voice once more spoke, this time more serious. "Let me tell you one thing, Haruno. Uchiha don't like it when others take what belongs to them so let me assure you that he will come, if only because your life is his responsibility."

* * *

When Shisui and Itachi arrived, Team 7 and Tsunade were already outside in front of the hospital waiting for them.

Sasuke looked livid, his Sharingan activated and spinning steadily while Naruto was emitting the kyuubi's chakra in waves, red daring to take over the white of his eyes as Kakashi kept both of them calm by placing a hand on both of their shoulder.

He looked calm, but Itachi knew him good enough to know that behind his blank facade Kakashi as well was tense. Then there was Tsunade who was pacing from left to right, dressed in her usual attire as she was muttering curses under her breath. Shizune was standing some meters next to her, scanning the entire scene with nervous eyes as she tried to offer calming words.

"We're here." Shisui announced as they made their way towards the small group, their attention instantly snapping to the Uchiha duo.

Itachi and Shisui's Sharingan's were activated just like Sasuke's and yet, whereas Shisui's expression displayed his anger upon hearing that his aunt and his little cousins teammate were being held hostage, Itachi's expression was as blank as ever and didn't give anything away.

If one looked closely and knew him long enough however, they would notice the way Itachi's crimson's eyes promised blood and death, his aura emitting authority that no one dared to defy or question.

"What do we know?" Itachi asked, his voice cutting through the air like a knife as Tsunade pursed her lips, honey orbs filled with flames.

"Your mother pushed the button but it seems like Sakura is the only one being held at the lobby." Tsunade told them, her hands curling into fists as she averted her eyes from the duo to fix them onto the hospitals entrance. "Judging by how they treat her, she probably managed to get Mikoto off their radar."

Itachi felt some of the burden that previously settled over his heart lessen. It was a great relief to hear that Sakura managed to get his mother into safety but now, they needed to localize her and then figure out a way to get inside so that they could free the hospital from its infiltrators.

"Sasuke, Shisui, I want you two to check every window and look if she is in one of the rooms." Itachi curtly ordered and even though Sasuke looked less than happy about having to leave, he did as told.

As soon as the two Uchiha cousins left, Itachi turned to look at Kakashi. "I need you and Naruto to wait at the hospital's exit so that you can get inside and clear the hospitals of the attackers once I managed to get in myself." He told them, and Kakashi nodded before he moved and dragged Naruto after him.

That only left Tsunade, Shizune and himself.

His eyes moved back to Tsunade. "I take that they blocked the hospital's entrance."

Tsunade nodded grimly. "A chakra seal. Whoever it is that keeps Sakura and your mother inside the hospital probably is the same one behind the attacks with the chakra scalpels."

Itachi remained silent and kept his gaze locked onto the entrance. For them to attack them directly in their own village was unacceptable, and Itachi would make sure that he would personally ensure that he would not let something like this happen a second time.

They knew that by using his mother and Sakura he would have no choice but to personally come and meet them and whereas he was certain that his mother's presence at the hospital was a lucky coincidence for them, Sakura being there wasn't.

"I went too easy on them." Itachi mumbled, his words laced with venom as his eyes flashed crimson. Today would mark the last day that they managed to get this close to Konoha, to its citizens and to his family, he would personally ensure that and once he had set his mind onto something, he wouldn't rest until he managed to go through with it.

"No one could have predicted that they managed to infiltrate Konoha." Tsunade commented next to him, her expression grave as her eyes caught sight of Sasuke running towards them. "So let's just settle on calling this a one-time thing."

Itachi remained silent and as Sasuke returned, his expression not having changed from before Itachi didn't even bother to ask.

"We need to get them out of there." Sasuke growled, eyes flashing. "Sakura won't last much longer if the muffled cries that I heard through the entrance windows are anything to go by."

Itachi gave Sasuke a curt nod, agreeing with him as he narrowed his eyes. "Go join your team members at the Hospitals exit. I'll make sure to get you in so that you can free mother and rid the others from the infiltrators."

"Wait." Came a familiar call and just then Shisui landed between them. All eyes fell on Shisui as he straightened and looked Itachi dead in the eye, the ghost of a smile hovering over his lips. "I found her. She's locked in Sakura's office but apparently, whoever attacked them believes that Sakura managed to teleport her out of the hospital."

Itachi once more found himself pleasantly surprised by the pinkette's cleverness and hummed lowly, obviously approving of her tactic.

Sasuke seemed equally relieved, though the tenseness never left his body. "I'll join Naruto and Kakashi and tell them." He muttered before he took off and disappeared into a black blur.

Itachi then turned back to Shisui, determined to put an end to this. "I trust you and Tsunade-sama to take care of the rest." He told his cousin, who gave him a casual salute in return.

The Uchiha heir then turned to face the entrance of the hospital and made his way towards it with confident yet small strides.

It was time to greet their visitor.

When Itachi was standing in front of the grand entrance doors, he halted, knowing that whoever it was that expected him was already aware of his arrival. Itachi used his Sharingan to see through the windows but it seemed like no one was in the lobby.

He frowned. The others have told him that they kept Sakura in the lobby but it seemed like they have moved her. Just as he was about to use his Sharingan to examine the chakra-seals on the door, a silhouette materialized itself behind the door.

Standing in front of him not too many heartbeats later was no other than Sakura, the glass door being the only barrier between the two.

Her eyes instantly met his and for a moment, no one moved. He took in the way her face was covered in small bruises and scratched, no doubt from their fight, and he didn't miss the dry blood that covered her temple either. The tips of her rosy locks were covered in dried blood, her lip had a small cut and she looked beyond exhausted.

What affected him the most however was the way her eyes softened with concern upon seeing the activated Sharingan in his eyes and the way his jaw was ever so slightly clenched. Despite of her exhausted appearance she still held herself upright and kept her head held high, silently signalizing him that she was alright before she offered him the ghost of a smile, the worry that briefly flashed in her eyes betraying it.

Itachi instantly noticed it before his eyes caught sight of the silhouette behind Sakura that was steadily approaching her. His eyes flashed dangerously in the darkness, serving as a warning to whoever intended to get close to Sakura before a gleaming chakra scalpel was pressed against Sakura's throat, the pinkette never breaking his gaze.

 _Don't worry._ Her eyes screamed as they softened upon seeing that Itachi's Sharingan slowly started to spin in his eyes. _Go back._

"Ah, so the Hokage finally came for his advisor." A voice suddenly boomed through the speakers, the pleasure that laced his words clearly audible. "Though I am quite disappointed that it took you this long. I hope that your mother made it back safely, she seems like a really nice woman."

Itachi didn't move, his expression remaining impassive at his provocation as he kept his eyes focused on the pinkette in front of him who visible tensed upon hearing his words.

She probably didn't know that he knew of his mothers hideout in her office and feared that he would blow her cover, but Itachi knew better.

"I received her well, though I am afraid that there is still someone in your possession that you have yet to return to me." Itachi merely returned as he watched Sakura's body relax ever so slightly, much to his satisfaction.

"Ah." The speakers once more cackled. "I am afraid that I cannot return her just yet. How about we talk about this inside, Hokage-sama. I am sure that Sakura-chan would like some moral support inside of the hospital."

Itachi tried his best to refrain from frowning upon hearing him use her given name this leisurely but judging by the way the scalpel that was pressed against Sakura's throat dug slightly deeper, causing her to bite onto her lower lip, he failed to hide his obvious displeasure.

"Very well then."

Itachi watched them demilitarize themselves once more before the door opened with a small clicking sound. The Uchiha slowly pushed them open and entered the hospital before he heard the doors close themselves behind him once more, leaving him standing in the middle of the hospital's entrance with Sakura and her masked attacker standing several feet in front of him.

Itachi swiftly scanned his surroundings with his chakra and as he found what he was looking for, he swiftly allowed it to fade once more, his attention now solely fixed on the pinkette in front of him.

"Wouldn't want the entire village to listen in, now would we?" The speakers once more echoed through the hall, earning a sharp look from Itachi. "I take that you already know who I am, Uchiha-san?"

"You are the one who attacked my men and poisoned my advisor in Suna." Itachi curtly confirmed, instantly cutting the chase. "You are also the very one whose life I shall take with my own hands when we meet."

At that, a chuckle echoed through the speakers and Itachi felt Sakura's chakra waver. It seemed like all the hours without sleep, the multiple surgeries and now the fight against them took a toll on her body.

"Ah, you don't disappoint me Hokage-sama." The voice drawled. "I look forward to the day I get to meet you in person then, though I am afraid that you won't like the circumstances under which we'll meet. The day I'll reveal myself to you will be the day of Konoha's downfall, so take this as my warning, Uchiha."

The scalpel that was pressed against Sakura's throat drew blood and Sakura winced as she forced herself to remain as silent as she could.

"It's time for Konoha to have a taste of its own medicine, and you get the honor of being the first, Uchiha-san. Fortunately for you, this time has yet to arrive so until then, I bid you and your enchanting advisor farewell."

With that the speakers went silent and Sakura found herself roughly pushed forwards. Itachi instantly moved forwards to catch her, his Sharingan eyes fixed on the silhouette that was previously behind her just to find it gone. His eyes scanned the entire lobby but to his surprise, there was no one to be found. Itachi tightened his hold on Sakura from where he was standing and helped her to move back on her feet. She was still slightly wobbly on her feet so he didn't release his hold on her and instead, went into a crouch and gently lowered her onto the ground.

Once she was on her knees, Itachi kept his hands on each side of her waste to steady her. Sakura carefully held her own head and closed her eyes as she tried to shake off the wave of dizziness that overcame her.

"Where did they go?" Sakura asked as she opened an eye to expectantly look up at Itachi, who frowned, not quite sure as to how to answer her question himself.

"They left." Was all that he finally offered her as an explanation and Sakura, getting the silent message merely let out an annoyed huff.

"All this trouble for nothing." She muttered before her head suddenly snapped upwards, eyes wide with concern. "Your mother-"

"Is already with Sasuke and Naruto. They made their way towards your office the moment the front door got unlocked." He calmly explained, and Sakura heaved a sigh of relief. She didn't know how Itachi had done it, nor did she have the strength to actually ask him but one thing was for sure, she was beyond glad that the day was finally over.

"Thank you." Sakura eventually whispered after some small moments of silence passed between the two of them. She then heaved a sigh before she offered Itachi an apologetic smile and continued."I had hoped to be able to take care of this without you getting involved but it seemed that I always pull you into the mess with me. "

Itachi allowed the Sharingan to fade and tilted his head ever so slightly to the side as he took in the sight of the bruised and battered pinkette in front of him. Even in her current state she never ceased to surprise him with her words and even though they were said lightly, he knew that they weighted heavier than she wanted him to believe.

Itachi gently extended his hand to place his index and middle finger onto her forehead, gently tapping it as his expression softened for the smallest of bits. During the attack she had acted in a way he didn't expect her to and yet, it was so like her that he was not all too surprised.

It was then that he realized that there would have been no better choice as his right-hand man than Sakura and that maybe, he really needed her more than he believed, just like Tsunade had told him all these weeks ago.

"You did well."

Sakura's mildly surprised expression faded upon hearing his praise and her lips curled upwards into a weak yet genuine smile, eyes shining with content as she relaxed under his touch.

No words were needed for him to know that she appreciated his words and when he removed his fingers from her forehead, she actually found herself mildly disappointed at the sudden loss of contact.

She swiftly brushed it off and blamed it onto her exhaustion and gratefully accepted the hand that Itachi offered her. She slipped her petite into his larger one and allowed him to pull her back onto her feet. Just as she managed to properly stand on her own, she caught sight of Tsunade and Shisui entering the hospital, followed by an obviously relieved Shizune.

"Haruno, what were you thinking?" Tsunade bellowed, earning a sigh from Sakura. She would never stop it, would she? The blonde slug-princess moved to stand in front of the pinkette and crossed her arms above her broad chest. "I believe that I told you to merely keep an eye on the patients and the staff, not to get yourself nearly killed again!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at Tsunade's dramatic words before she offered the blonde a small smile. "Thanks for your concern, Tunade-Shishou, but as you can see I am fine and, most importantly, still alive." Sakura returned, mildly aware of the fact that Itachi was still standing in arms reach, probably to make sure that she wouldn't pass out right then and there.

Tsunade snorted as her honey orbs openly scanned Sakura from head to toe. "Doesn't look like you're fine, it looks like they got you quite good. Let me patch you up so that you can go home and rest because I certainly won't let you go home looking like this."

Sakura slumped her shoulders and, knowing that Tsunade wouldn't yield, gave her a reluctant nod. Just as the blonde turned to Itachi, a new voice echoed through the hall that Sakura could never mistake.

"Sakura-chan!" Was the only warning that she got before she felt herself getting picked up from behind.

"Naruto!" Sakura called in protest as she tightly gripped his forearms that were wrapped around her waist to keep herself steady. Her blonde teammate put her back onto the ground before he pulled Sakura into a bone-crushing hug, his familiar scent filling her senses and causing her entire body to relax in an instant as she slowly wrapped her arms around his middle.

"I was so worried!" He exclaimed as he tightened his hold on his teammate, who in return smiled into his neck.

"I'm sorry, but it wasn't really planned." Sakura replied as she pushed against his chest to lock her eyes with his vibrant and bright blue ones. "Where are the others?"

"Yo." Came Kakashi's familiar voice from behind Naruto and her eyes instantly found his crinkled ones as he made his way towards them. "You okay?"

Sakura offered her sensei and teammate a nod as she gave Naruto's shoulder a gentle tap, signalizing him that he should release her, what he reluctantly and rather slowly did.

Kakashi placed a gloved hand onto the top of her head and gently ruffled her hair. "Well done as always kiddo."

Sakura swatted his hand away and run a hand through her hair in hope of taming it but judging by the way Kakashi's gaze turned mischievous, she probably only made it worse. She was just about to ask where Sasuke and Mikoto were when the duo emitted from the right corridor and upon seeing the pinkette, Mikoto's entire body visibly relaxed out of relief.

A smile made it's way onto her lips as Mikoto hurried to Sakura and enveloped her into a tight hug.

"Thank god." The Uchiha matriarch whispered. "Do you know how worried I was?"

As Mikoto pulled back, Sakura offered her an apologetic smile. "I apologize, but it was the only way to keep you safe Mikoto-san" She told the elder woman, who in return merely sighed, knowing very well that Sakura was right.

Mikoto's gaze then turned to look at her eldest son who was silently watching the exchange with Shisui while Kakashi filled Tsunade and Shizune into what has happened while they were outside waiting for them.

"Are you alright?" She asked and upon getting a small nod in return, she heaved a breath of relief. She knew that her son was not easily harmed and yet, whoever it was that targeted them seemingly was someone of his and Sakura's level and that was reason enough to worry about him.

"Well then." Tsunade once more spoke up, her voice instantly gaining the attention of everyone present. "Kakashi, I expect you to find a way to turn the electricity back on. Sasuke, Naruto, you stay here until I patched Sakura up. I expect you to bring her home while Itachi and Shisui accompany Mikoto-san back home." The Godaime commanded and Itachi's eyes met Sakura's once more.

The Uchiha heir held her eyes for a second before he answered. "Very well then. I expect you at my office tomorrow after you got some rest, there are still a few things left to be discussed." He told her, and Sakura gave him a small nod in return.

Mikoto gently squeezed Sakura's shoulder and offered the pinkette a small smile before she pulled her back into a hug. "Thank you." She whispered as she tightened her hold onto the pinkette for the split of a second. "For everything."

Sakura smiled as she returned Mikoto's hug before Shisui pulled her away from the pinkette, not before he gave her a hair ruffle on his own.

Itachi passed Sakura without another word, his eyes fixed on his mother as the Uchiha trio left the hospital, leaving Team seven, Tsunade and Shizune on their own.

"Well, I should go and take care of our little problem as well." Kakashi sighed, clearly not too happy about his task as he also took off.

Sakura and Naruto instantly moved to stand next to Sakura, Sasuke shooting her a disgruntled frown that she merely returned with a smile. Sakura looped her arms through theirs and rested her head on Sasuke's shoulder, a pleased sigh leaving her lips.

Tsunade watched the trio with a fond smile before she moved towards the emergency room, the three of them instantly moving to follow Shizune and her, though at a slightly slower pace.

"You have a knack for getting yourself into trouble lately, it seems." Sasuke muttered but other than that, didn't protest as they followed Tsunade and Shizune.

"Well, lucky me that I have an awesome team that always backs me up." She merely returned as she lifted her head off his shoulder, Naruto instantly jumping upon hearing her words.

"You bet!" He called as he wrapped his arm around both Sakura and Sasuke to pull them closer. "Though it looks like Itachi is doing quite a good job at it as well."

At Naruto's rather innocent comment, Sasuke made a noise that sounded similar to a growl. "Don't remind me." He mumbled, and Sakura gave him a small, disapproving nudge.

"Calm down. He's still your brother and it's true that he did help me out quite a few times already." Sakura told him, but Sasuke still didn't seem all too pleased. He wisely remained silent nonetheless and Sakura couldn't help but smile as she tightened her hold on both Sasuke and Naruto's arms, glad to have them by her side and beyond grateful that she has been blessed with the two of them.

Almost instantly, she felt the two of them squeeze her arms in return.

She smiled.

Yes, she was grateful and blessed indeed.

* * *

A/N: I am back! I apologize for the delay, but I caught a really bad cold and well, it really wasn't what you would call a pleasant experience!

Anyways, this was a slightly longer chapter but I hope that you enjoyed it nonetheless! I sincerely thank you for all the reads, favorites, follows and reviews so far. You really don't believe how much they motivate me to write faster and better so I hope that you will continue to support me as much as you did so far!

If you liked this chapter, I would be happy to read which part or scene your favorite one was so please leave a comment and tell me what you liked and what you would like to see in the future!

As always, please take care of yourselves and I hope that you'll have a great day!

Until next chapter!

Love,

Sara.


	14. Council

CHAPTER 14- Council

"So basically, you're screwed."

Sakura shot her best friend a half-hearted glare from where she was lounging on the couch. That morning when Sasuke, Naruto and her were just about to finish breakfast when her blonde friend made a rather dramatic appearance by almost knocking down her front door with the strength she used to knock on the door.

As soon as Sakura had opened the door, rather hurriedly so that her neighbors wouldn't complain about Ino's rather loud yelling and curses, the blonde barged inside and ordered Sasuke and Naruto to leave so that they could spend some time _catching up._

So now the duo was seated on Sakura's couch, surrounded by nail-polish and a rather generous amount of snacks while the TV played a rerun of the infamous _Kunoichi Diaries_ series.

"What?" Ino asked, feigning innocence as she popped a grape into her mouth. "The same freak that poisoned you in order to get to Itachi managed to get into Konoha and tried to toy with you and our dear Hokage's mind last night. That doesn't sound good to me."

Sakura rolled her eyes as she nibbled on her chocolate bar. "Aren't you supposed to cheer me up, pig?" She asked, getting a snort from Ino in return.

"As your best friend, it's my job to tell you the truth." The blonde returned as she examined her freshly polished nails. "And let's be honest, that's not even one of the craziest things that has ever happened to one of us. A crazy psycho that wants to use you in order to get to the Hokage? Oh please, that's _so_ outdated."

Against her will, Sakura's lips curled up into a small amused smile. Ino, of course, was right. Until recently, she used to think the same way but ever since Itachi and hers talk at the Monument, she started to see things a little more serious. It wasn't that she didn't take them serious before, but just like the others, she eventually got used to the risks and consequences and thus, didn't bother to break her head much over every little detail.

This time, however, with her most recently gained knowledge, she admittedly felt slightly more concerned than she usually did and whereas she couldn't just tell Ino, she had a feeling that the blonde had already noticed without having to tell her.

"I know." Sakura eventually sighed, taking a bite of the chocolate bar. "I just feel slightly uneasy knowing that they managed to get this close without anyone of us noticing."

At that Ino narrowed her eyes and turned to look at her friend with obvious disapproval. "Don't even go there forehead, it'll do you no good." The blonde kunoichi warned as she blew air onto her nails to let them dry. "Of course it's upsetting to know that they managed to get this close, but at least there won't be a second time now that it happened. There is no need for you to unnecessarily waste your time thinking about all the possible reasons for their attack when they already made it painfully obvious. They already said that they wanted to get to the Hokage, didn't they?"

At Sakura's nod, Ino continued with a pointed look at Sakura.

"See, there you have it. Countless of idiots tried to get to you while you were Tsunade's apprentice, so nothing really changed." Ino finished as she plopped another grape. "Whereas your concern is understandable, it's unnecessary so just forget about it forehead."

Sakura remained silent, knowing that there would be no use in arguing with Ino about it. Ino didn't know how many of their Shinobi were found with a chakra scalpel stuck in their lifeless bodies, just how confident the attacker sounded last night and most importantly, what Itachi had told her, so Sakura decided to simply leave it at that.

"How was your mission in Kiri?" Sakura asked, taking the opportunity to change the topic without raising any suspicions.

"Quite boring." Ino returned, still frowning at her nails. "Shika broke his pinky and Choji almost drowned while he tried to save our client that stumbled into a river."

Sakura lifted a brow, amusement sparkling in her eyes as she tossed a pillow at Ino. "You are a horrible person."

Ino, seemingly unbothered by the pillow that hit her face merely shot her pink-haired friend a smirk as she took the pillow and hugged it to her chest.

"Says the one whose forehead is a literal magnet for trouble and problematic guys." At that, Ino's smirk only deepened as she rolled onto her stomach to properly look at Sakura. "Speaking of guys, how is it to work with the hottest Uchiha of Konoha? I'm still mad that Kakashi and Tsunade suggested you for the position and not me because I would have _totally_ appreciated this free eye candy that you somehow got stuck with."

Sakura rolled her green eyes once more. She should have sensed that one coming and frankly, she wasn't even that surprised at Ino's curiosity. "It's alright, I guess. I don't get the urge to wring his neck anymore, so I guess that you could say that we've finally reached neutral grounds." The pinkette shrugged, pointedly ignoring on her friends' comments regarding Itachi.

Ino huffed as she rested her chin onto her palm, her tongue clicking in disapproval. "Geez Forehead, you really don't know when to enjoy the gift that the universe has granted you for whatever reason there is. How can you not jump him the instant you see him? Are we talking about the same Itachi because the one I know can make any girl shiver in delight by simply standing in a ten foot radius."

At that, Sakura couldn't contain her snort. She knew hat Itachi was quite famous with most girls even though, as far as she knew, he never even bothered to spare them a glance. They obviously didn't know the Uchiha the way she did.

"Oh please pig, you don't know him like I do." Sakura told her as the image of a certain Uchiha flashed in front of her eyes and her smirk faltered for the split of a second. "There is more to him than you think."

Upon seeing her friends suddenly thoughtful expression, Ino's lips curled upwards into a devilish smirk as she arched a perfectly shaped blonde brow. "I know, and that's exactly what makes all the girls go crazy about him. Who wouldn't want to break through the mysterious, incredibly strong and sexy Uchiha's shell and find out just what's going on in his mind? Because _I_ sure as hell do and I can bet you that over half of Konoha's female population does as well."

Sakura snorted as she mirrored her friend's expression and arched a brow herself. "Wow, I never knew that Itachi was your type."

"Oh please, Itachi is everyone's type and I bet my best pair of panties that he is yours as well." Ino smugly said, causing Sakura to somehow choke on the candy that she plopped into her mouth.

She swiftly grabbed some water, very well aware of the way Ino's gleaming eyes were fixed on her as she struggled for air.

After Sakura gulped down the cold liquid and coughed a few times, she turned to look at Ino with a glare. "I don't have a type."

At that, Ino smirked. "So you're saying that the possibility of you finding Uchiha Itachi attractive exists?"

Sakura blinked at Ino's blunt declaration before she sighed. Ino had a way of getting things out of her and whereas she didn't feel like talking to Ino about Itachi or whether he was enjoyable to the eyes or not, she wouldn't lie and deny that he was indeed a very healthy and attractive man. That, however didn't mean that she was attracted to him.

"Itachi is attractive." Sakura confirmed, holding up a hand as Ino was about to open her mouth. "That doesn't mean that I am attracted to him though, so could we please stop talking about how attractive my boss is? That just feels weird. Besides, with all that's going on, I don't really feel like it's the right time for a relationship."

Ino rolled her eyes once more as she as well plopped a candy into her mouth. "Sakura, you said that for as long I can remember. Ever since you realized that your weird crush on Sasuke back then wasn't what you believed it to be, you've completely lost your interest in relationships and that's not healthy."

"I did try going on dates." Sakura tried to defend herself, but at the blank stare that Ino gave her she instantly shut her mouth.

"You can't consider what you had dates, it was more like a row of awkward meetings that crushed your hope in finding someone who doesn't want you to give up your life as a kunoichi." Ino corrected her before a sigh passed her lips and her expression softened.

"I don't want you to think that all men are the same when it comes to dating and trust me, I know. I've seen it all and let me tell you, one day you'll met the one who'll accept your all just like the rest of us one day will." Ino told her pink-haired friend before a familiar gleam brightened up her eyes once more. "And who knows? Maybe that person will be our dear Hokage, though I admittedly don't think that pink-haired girls with a big forehead are his type."

Sakura once again threw a pillow at Ino who in return caught it mid-air and shot the blonde a half-hearted glare. "As always, I am beyond grateful for your attempt of cheering me up, though I would appreciate if you tried to do so without gossiping about our Hokage and his popularity with the girls."

Ino grinned as she tossed the pillow that Sakura had previously attacked her with onto the floor and sighed with content. "I can' help it, he really is a blessing for the eyes. Though I have to say that _Sasuke_ -"

"Ino!"

* * *

After Sakura managed to throw Ino out of her home, she decided to get dressed and meet Itachi in his office as they had agreed on last night.

Whereas she was expecting there to be quite some mess for Itachi to clean up, she wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted her as soon as she gently opened the door of his office after she knocked and received no reply.

She instantly realized why the moment she stepped inside.

Itachi's office was filled with at least a dozen of people who were all arguing rather loudly with one another, some of them Sakura recognized and some of them she didn't know.

There was Fugaku standing a couple of feet to her right, arms crossed above his chest and his expression grave and eyes burning with fury as he listened to something the female elder was shouting at him.

To her left stood a woman who was silently talking to the Hyuuga clan elder that was standing next to her, his expression clearly holding displeasure as his eyes were locked on some clan elder that was seemingly having a heated discussion with Danzo.

There was a trio of elders that Sakura didn't recognize that was standing in the middle of the room, the male elder taking the scene in with obvious disapproval as the other two were having their own little one-sided discussion with Itachi, who was sitting behind his desk with a blank expression.

The way his eyes were burning and his eyebrow twitched ever so slightly, she could easily make out that Itachi was _pissed_.

"This is unacceptable!" She heard Homura bellow, her eyes sharply narrowed. "People's lives were at stake and the way he acted was irresponsible."

Sakura arched a brow as she gently closed the door behind her and kept her eyes focused on the mess in front of her. Well, Sakura always knew that she had a rather unfortunate timing and now, thanks to her trouble attracting forehead as Ino had dubbed it, she was stuck in the middle of what seemed like a political argument.

Oh the joy.

"What was our Hokage supposed to do then, let the attacker kill his advisor and mother?" Kakashi smoothly interjected, his tone calm yet his words cut through the air like a sharp knife. "He acted the way any of the Hokage's before him would have- the _right_ way."

Sakura slowly slid through the mass of people, keeping her eyes fixed on Itachi as she kept her head high upon feeling several pairs on eyes on her.

Even though their conversations didn't cease, she was very well aware of the glances they stole at her upon noticing her presence and the glares of disapproval that they shot her way.

She didn't let it faze her though and instead, silently continued to move towards Itachi who, by now, had also noticed her presence and kept his eyes fixed on her.

As she reached his desk, she offered him a sympathetic smile and wordlessly moved to stand next to him behind his desk.

Itachi, obviously appreciating her silence returned his attention to the duo in front of him and whereas he was pleased by her silent support, he inwardly prepared himself for the attack that his advisor would most likely soon find herself under.

"He shouldn't have even let it get this far." Another elder commented, voice low. "The hospital clearly wasn't secured enough if they managed to sneak inside without anyone noticing, especially Godaime-sama and her apprentice."

"The hospital security isn't at fault, but Konoha's borders!" Another one pointed out. "They wouldn't have even managed to get this far if they didn't make it past the borders!"

"As all of us know, the borders are as secured as possible." Fugaku sternly interjected, having seemingly taken offense. "It's highly likely that the person behind yesterday's incident was either someone who has been in Konoha for some time or got some help getting in by someone from the inside."

At that, another uproar started and judging by the way Itachi's eyes burned, Sakura knew that the Uchiha heir only waited for the right moment to put them back into place.

"Isn't it the Hokage's advisor that they're after?" A woman spoke, causing Sakura to unconsciously stiffen next to Itachi, what he instantly noticed. "Isn't she supposed to aid him in keeping Konoha safe instead of causing an even bigger mess?"

Murmurs of agreement filled the office as Sakura found herself to be the newest center of attention, the glances and looks she received being enough to fuel her anger.

She already expected her name to fall sooner or later, but she admittedly never expected them to call her out this bluntly. She felt her heart drop ever so slightly before she balled her fists and looked the woman that had to bluntly insulted her dead in the eye, emerald eyes gleaming with anger.

She felt Itachi next to her tense ever so slightly upon hearing his advisor being called out and when she was certain that he was about to speak up in her place, she gently rested her hand onto his shoulder to stop him.

He didn't look at her nor did he move to shrug her hand off. Instead, she felt him calm ever so slightly under her touch and Sakura took it as a sign to go ahead.

Now that she had their attention, she might as well use it.

The woman in question seemed to be in her late forties and judging by her markings, she seemingly belonged to one of the Inuzuka's branch Clans.

"As far as I am concerned, many of you share Inuzuka-san's point of view." Sakura started, her eyes scanning the room as she slid her hand off Itachi's shoulder and instead, stepped forwards with her head held high. "I would like this opportunity to set the record straight if I may."

She looked at the occupants of the now silent room, everyone looking either mildly surprised or even more suspicious by her declaration.

"A confession, perhaps?" Homura dared to ask, and Sakura's lips curled upwards into a sharp smile, eyes flashing dangerously.

"A statement." Sakura corrected as she crossed her arms behind her back and kept her eyes fixed on the group in front of her. "For the ones in this room that are doubting the former as well as he current Hokage's judgment."

Homura's eyes narrowed and Sakura could tell that she was displeased by the sharp edge to Sakura's words but other than that, the elder wisely decided to remain silent.

"As you have correctly stated before, as the Hokage's advisor it is indeed my job to aid him in keeping Konoha safe and as a part of Konoha's hospital's head, I am also responsible for the hospitals and its patients safety." Sakura told them, her voice ringing with confidence that her rapidly beating heart betrayed. "During the past incidents I have acted accordingly and the way that was expected of a kunoichi, medic and the Hokage's advisor. Not only I, but the Hokage and every shinobi out there have risked their lives various of times during the past weeks ever since the attacks started in order to keep this village safe and if it weren't for us, not only the Hokage's mother, but many other innocent lives would have been lost. I will take full responsibility for any incident that may result by my mistakes or lack of skill, but I will not tolerate anyone disrespect the Hokage's judgment or question his decisions, including his decision of naming me his advisor and trusting me enough to take care of any attack on Konoha."

Silence followed Sakura's words and she could see that her words had the wanted effect. Everyone was either looking at her with clear surprise, avoided her gaze or looked at her with approval- the latter applying to the majority.

"Why, pray tell, have our mysterious attackers taken a liking to you then?" The Inuzuka elder once more spoke, hazel eyes filled with suspicion. "First the poisoning and now the attack at the hospital. You seem to attract trouble Haruno, and this is not a fortunate trait."

At that, Sakura arched a brow. "What better way is there to get to the Hokage then to get rid of his advisor who is also a valued kunoichi of Konoha? As much as I know that many of you would like me to resign and throw me to the wolves just to get rid of what you believe to be the problem, you fail to see the real problem. One can't cure an illness by ridding the symptoms only, and this is what many of you are clearly attempting- what leaves us with two choices. You either try to find a cure to get rid of the real problem or leave it to die, and I think that I can speak for everyone when I say that the latter is not an option."

The room erupted in murmurs and whereas there was no clear, verbal agreement from any of them, Sakura could tell that she managed to get her point across and that they finally seem to understand. Of course there were still a few exceptions that were simply too stubborn to accept it, but Sakura expected no less. After all, it were the pessimistic ones that kept her motivated to aim higher and become better.

"Silence."

The command was merely uttered and yet, the moment it passed his lips the entire room turned deadly silent, all eyes turning to the Uchiha behind her. Sakura kept her eyes on the crowd but couldn't help but feel a cold shiver run down her spine. His tone was sharp enough to cut through skin and the roughness of his voice that was clearly laced with displeasure held an amount of authority that could make armies of shinobi still in an instant.

"I believe that I have already given my opinion to this matter once and I, as well as Haruno-san, don't intent to repeat ourselves regarding this situation. It will do all of you good to remember not only my, but also my advisors words if you want to keep a say in any matter regarding Konoha." Itachi spoke, his deep voice holding all the authority he possessed. "If a situation like this is to reoccur, I won't hesitate to dismiss anyone that dares to bluntly insult my advisor or me of their seat in all of the meetings that will be held in the future. I hope that I have made myself clear."

Silence followed his words and whereas it was more than obvious that some were still displeased, the majority have lowered their heads to show him that they have understood.

What didn't mean that they would follow his words, but it was a start nonetheless.

"What do you propose we should do then, Hokage-sama?" Danzo spoke up, earning all of the room's occupants attention in an instant as his lips tilted slightly downwards. "You can't expect us to just lean back and let you do all of the work on your own."

Danzo never was one to hold back and always shared what was on his mind, regardless of whether it was appropriate under the circumstances or not.

"That's why I have Haruno-san by my side- so that I don't have to do all of this on my own." Itachi smoothly returned, and Sakura tried her best to fight the smile that tugged at the corner of her lips.

Danzo in return remained silent, knowing that he had walked into this one and clenched his jaw.

"Any more questions?" Itachi asked as his eyes roamed the now silent crowd in front of him. When he received no answer, he knew that this marked the end of today's commotion and glanced at Sakura out of the corner of his eyes.

His advisor instantly took the hint and pointedly cleared her throat to gain the crowds attention. As soon as she was certain that all eyes were on her, the pinkette offered them a brief, yet sincere smile and gently inclined her head.

"I guess that this marks the end of today's little meeting then." Sakura started, her green eyes never leaving the Clan elders. "I look forwards to participating in future gatherings where I'll be able to work _together_ will all of you so that we can work on finding ways to permanently ensure Konoha's safety and improve its intern stability."

Itachi had to hide his own smirk upon hearing Sakura's answer, but the satisfaction that his dark eyes displayed was enough for the rest to know that he was content with his advisors diplomatic answer.

"You are dismissed."

They hesitated, but eventually left Itachi's office. Some shot Sakura a smile of approval whereas others didn't even bother to pay her any more attention than necessary, but to the pinkette it mattered very little.

She was glad that she finally managed to face the elders as the Hokage's advisor and to give them a piece of her mind, but she couldn't help but heave a small sigh of relief when the last person left the room and the door to the Uchiha's office shut close.

Sakura moved to walk around the desk so that she was once more standing in front of it, her eyes instantly meeting Itachi's dark ones that were already firmly fixed on her. He motioned for her to sit down onto the empty chair in front of him and Sakura silently did as told after flashing him a brief smile of thanks.

"Well, it seems like I chose just the right time to pay you a visit." Sakura said, a small smile on her lips as she intertwined her hands behind her back.

"Hn." Itachi softly returned as he eyed his advisor with a calculating gaze. She showed no sign of uneasiness and yet, the way her smile didn't quite reach her eyes betrayed her cheerful tone. "Your timing is something you should work on nonetheless, Haruno."

Sakura merely lifted a brow in return. "Considering that without me you'd have had to deal with a mop of clearly angered Clan elders all on your own, my timing has been quite well if I may say so myself."

Of course Itachi had expected her answer and judging by the way his eyes briefly flashed in approval, she knew that he was just messing with her again.

"I take that you've gotten some rest after yesterday's incident at the hospital." Itachi started, smoothly changing the topic as the pinkette gave him a curt nod.

"I did." She responded, her smile dimming as the previous nights events flashed in front of her eyes. "I hope that your mother is well and managed to get some rest, I can imagine that it must have been quite a stressful day for her."

Itachi eyes the young woman in front of him in mild curiosity. He knew that she had knowingly put herself in harm's way in order for his mother to hide in her office and wait for backup during the attack, but he hadn't quite expected her to be any further concerned with his mothers well-being after he took her home.

"She is quite well, thanks to your swift acting." He replied, expression serious. "You have my thanks for keeping her safe when I was unable to do so, Haruno. "

Sakura's expression instantly softened. She knew that Mikoto held a great spot in Itachi's heart, but she didn't expect him to thank her for doing something that was a matter of course. It was her duty as a kunoichi and his advisor to keep her safe, especially since he was the mother of the Hokage and the Uchiha matriarch, but above that all, she was her friends' mother and a woman that she cared greatly for.

"Of course." She replied, her lips curling upwards into a smile. "Your mother is an admirable woman and kunoichi. It actually took me some time to convince her to hide in my office, but I guess that I have a knack of breaking through an Uchiha's stubbornness."

At that, Itachi was unable to contain his smirk. He knew that his mother was a very stubborn woman, a trait that he and his little brother had undoubtedly inherited from her and it didn't surprise him to hear that his mother had also displayed this trait in Sakura's presence.

"I am aware of another person whose stubbornness is able to match the one of an Uchiha." Itachi returned, the teasing glint in his dark eyes skillfully concealed. "It's not a trait that too many appreciate, I am sure."

Now _that_ Sakura took personal.

The pinkette lifted a pink brow at the Uchiha in front of her, her smile visibly dimming as her eyes narrowed for the slightest of bits.

"It's a trait that's needed, especially when dealing with certain people." Sakura smoothly returned, the steely edge her voice held clearly audible to Itachi. "I consider it a blessing in disguise, actually, for it has helped me deal with quite a few rather problematic human beings on several occasions."

She now held his full attention, his dark eyes taking his time in scanning her face as he took in the way her expression changed within the split of seconds.

His advisor was like an open book to him and didn't bother to hide her emotions or feelings, what was a rather refreshing change. It was a dangerous trait, but he knew for quite some time now that Sakura still held an innocence of sorts that not many did, despite of having seen the cruel sights the world had to offer.

"It's a matter of perception." Itachi easily returned. "I am sure that not many share your opinion regarding that matter, Haruno. Perhaps many of your rather unpleasant encounters with others are the result of this very same stubbornness you possess."

Sakura didn't know how they managed to stray away from their original topic, but she did know that the rather sudden and unexpected twist their conversation has gotten didn't sit the least bit well with her.

"I don't expect them to." Sakura evenly returned as her gaze sharpened. "However, I won't take the blame for any unpleasant encounters during the past. They either accept it or not, I am past the stage of caring about others approval regarding my words or actions."

Silence followed her words as Itachi took some moments to let her words sink in, the darkening of his eyes not going unnoticed by the pinkette. Sakura however stood her ground, refusing to let him get any further under her skin.

Itachi could see that she believed in her own words and yet, he knew that it was a pretense that she unconsciously put up for her own hearts safety. She had a kind heart and judging by what he has heard from others, including Tsunade, Sakura had a knack of instantly taking others words to heart.

He didn't blame her of course, but he wondered just how many times it took her to say these words until she believed them herself.

"Very well then." Itachi yielded, knowing that the rest of their little conversation was better left for another day as he decided to move on to a safer topic. "Shisui informed me about the incident that occurred in the civilian part of the village."

Sakura visibly relaxed as she offered him a small nod in return, inwardly grateful for the smooth change of topic that he provided her with. She had a feeling that they would have this conversation some time in the future again, or at least one similar to that, but until then she wouldn't think much about it.

"We managed to prevent the fire from spreading any further, but there have been some complications that I am sure Shisui already told you about." Sakura told him, earning a nod from Itachi in return.

"He did." He confirmed as he leaned back in his seat, a mildly thoughtful expression on his face. "I take that you managed to take care of the injured family members?"

"It was a close call." Sakura admitted as she thought back to the rather long surgery she had performed on the injured family members. "But they'll be fine. I take that the attacker is locked away?"

Itachi nodded. "He is. Kakashi is interrogating him as we speak but according to what Shisui's told me, he won't be getting out of there anytime soon."

Sakura hummed in understanding, having expected no less especially after what she had witnessed that day. She still couldn't help but shiver whenever she thought of the way he rammed the kunai into his wife without even doing as much as batting an eye. She had seen a lot of crazy things during her time as a kunoichi and a medic, and even though cases like this were no rarity, it caused her to question the human mind every time.

"Well, considering that he tried to kill his entire family and succeeded in seriously injuring them, it's the least he deserves." Sakura spoke. "Though that still leaves us with our little friend from the hospital to deal with."

At that, Itachi's expression turned serious once more. The Uchiha hear leaned back forwards so that he could place his elbows onto the surface of his desk once more.

"It's just a matter of time until their identity will be revealed." Itachi told her, eyes steadily fixed on her as he paused for a small moment, as if contemplating whether he should add something, and then, "I would actually like to propose something."

Sakura's eyes displayed the surprise that she felt upon hearing his words. For the first time, Itachi actually seemed hesitant about something and Sakura would lie if she were to say that this mere fact didn't perk her curiosity regarding the proposal even further.

"What's it?"

Unknowing to the pinkette, Itachi had thought this proposal ,or rather offer, over for hundreds of times during the previous night, unsure of what the right course of action would be. Up until now he still wasn't sure whether this was a good idea, but he knew that in the end he would have to at least bring it up once.

"I would like you to accompany me on a mission." Itachi revealed, carefully taking in the way Sakura's expression turned from curious to surprised. "Don't be mistaken though, it's not an ordinary mission and that's exactly why your presence is needed."

"What kind of mission is it, then?" Sakura inquired, obviously curious the more she thought about it. Judging by Itachi's hesitance he didn't seem too keen on taking her with him for reasons unknown to her, but that only fueled her interest in the mission.

"We are to meet my informant in Kirigakure." Itachi elaborated, causing Sakura to arch a brow upon hearing that detail. "There, we will discuss everything we know about the attackers identity so far and his plans. We'll be gone for a week and stay at a civilian village before we'll return to Konoha and think about what to do next."

Sakura took in everything that he told her and so far, it seemed to be a fairly easy mission. Of course they thought the same about their little trip to Suna and they all knew how that ended, but she had a feeling that he purposefully left out a thing or two.

Then again, she couldn't say that she was surprised because Itachi always liked to keep things to himself.

"Well then, I see no reason as to why I should refuse to join you." Sakura spoke, her eyes narrowing in mild wonder. "Though I wonder why you would like me to join you when you could take Kakashi or Shikamaru with you who are obviously far more experienced in the field of tactics."

"I didn't want to take you with me." Itachi clarified, the way Sakura's eyes hardened the instant the words have left his lips not going past him. He was certain that the pinkette most likely misunderstood, but in the end it was the truth. He didn't want her to join him- but for different reasons that she most likely thought of. "It's true that Kakashi and Shikamaru would be the better choice in regards of tactical planning and thinking, but that's not what I require for this mission."

Sakura, clearly confused by now, pressed her lips together as she expectantly looked at the Uchiha heir. When she didn't comment and remained silent, urging him to elaborate, Itachi's eyes bore through her with an intensity that caused her skin to tingle in anticipation and to say that his next words didn't disappoint her would have been the understatement of the century.

"It's your judgment that I trust the most, and your judgment that I plan to rely on during this mission."

Sakura's eyes widened out of surprise for the split of a second, his words having caught her off guard before they softened right after. Out of every reason there was for him to take her with him on the mission, she never expected him wanting her to accompany him for that reason and the mere fact that he did was enough to positively surprise her.

"I am grateful for the trust that you place in me." Sakura returned, lips curled upwards into an appreciative smile as she inclined her head ever so slightly. "I will make sure not to disappoint you then."

Itachi's dark orbs held a warmth upon seeing her reaction that he rarely showed to others and hid the ghost of the small smirk that passed over his lips for the split of a second behind his intertwined hands. He didn't regret his decision and knew that he had chosen the right option, which was to take his advisor with him despite of his earlier doubts. Itachi had told her the truth when he said that he trusted her judgment the most, but that was not the only reason he had for considering to take her with him. Once he would be gone to meet up with his informant, he would be unable to keep an eye on her and if something like the previous nights incident were to recur, he would be unable to get her and everyone else involved out of the mess. Whereas he knew that Tsunade and the rest knew how to take care of such a situation as well, getting them any further involved then they already were would shred even more light onto the current problems Konoha was facing.

If Sakura would stay with him, Konoha would be safe during their absence. Their attacker would have no reason to attack them because both Itachi and Sakura were not present.

Itachi knew that they would most likely be faced with some complications on their mission, as it always was the case, but he was sure that by the time they would return to Konoha, they would be one step closer to their mysterious attacker.

He looked at the young woman who was sitting in front of him, her smile instantly easing all the concerns that he had regarding the mission and its outcome. She would not disappoint him, that he was certain of, but he couldn't help but wonder what the duo would be faced with once more.

Whatever it was that would come at them, he was sure that they would be able to take it on.

"I don't expect anything else from you, Haruno."

* * *

"So, you're going on a mission with Itachi again."

Sakura gave her teammate a nod as she took a sip of her hot soup. She was seated between Sasuke and Naruto, the former silently eating his ramen whereas the latter didn't even bother to think of anything related to manners as he hungrily wolfed his ramen down.

"How long will you be gone?"

This time it was Sasuke who spoke up, his voice devoid of any emotions but Sakura could easily tell that her teammate was not too pleased about the news.

"A week at most." Sakura nonchalantly returned as she took another spoon of her soup. "It's not that big of a mission either, so there's no need for you guys to worry."

Sasuke merely offered her a curt "Hn." Whereas Naruto chewed on his ramen with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Ne, Sasuke, do you even see Itachi at home?" Naruto suddenly asked, his blue eyes falling onto his brooding teammate who didn't even bother to look at the blonde in return.

Sakura also turned to look at Sasuke, curious as to what his answer would be and if Sasuke was bothered by the sudden attention that he received, he didn't let it show.

"Of course dobe." Sasuke returned, his brows slightly furrowed. "Though not as much as I used to before he became the Hokage."

"It's understandable. It took Tsunade days to take care of all the paper work until the next stack would arrive and I can imagine that Itachi isn't any better off." Sakura reminded them, and Naruto snorted as he remembered the tantrum's the Godaime threw whenever another stack was added.

"Now that I think of it, I've never seen Itachi actually pissed off." Naruto remarked, and now that Sakura thought about it she had never seen Itachi actually angry either.

"Yesterday was the closest I've seen him get angry." Sakura told them as she took another spoon filled with soup into her mouth and let her spoon rest in her mouth for some moments. "Though I am sure that it isn't a pretty sight."

"It isn't." Sasuke confirmed, causing Sakura and Naruto to look at him in surprise. The Uchiha was staring at the wall of Ichiraku's, a far-away look in his eyes. "It happened once, and the circumstances weren't that great either."

Sasuke didn't go into detail and decided to leave it at that, much to his teammates dismay who were already looking forward to hearing about the story. He was aware of his teammates disappointment but he didn't plan on telling them this story at Ichiraku's where everyone could easily listen in. Besides that, Sasuke wasn't too keen on sharing this story in the first place. It brought up memories that he didn't like to recall, and if it wasn't absolutely necessary he wouldn't either.

He knew that he would most likely end up telling his teammates some time in the future but this time was not now, so he decided to end this topic right there and then.

Naruto and Sakura, noticing the obvious shift in Sasuke's mood, decided to go back to eating their food, both occupied by their own thoughts.

"Wait!" Naruto rather suddenly exclaimed, his wide eyes falling on Sakura who in return looked at him, obviously startled. "What about our tournament?"

Sakura looked at her blonde friend in confusion, not understanding what he talked about. "What about it?"

"Will you be back in time?" Naruto asked, his blue eyes filled with an urgency that caused Sakura to heave a sigh at her teammates dramatic behavior.

"It's not for another two weeks, so even if it'll take us slightly longer, I'll still be able to participate." Sakura assured him, earning a fox-like grin from Naruto in return as his eyes brightened at her answer.

"You better, 'ttebayo!" Naruto called as he took another mouth full of his favorite ramen. "It wouldn't be as fun without you."

Sakura smiled as she shook her head and continued to eat. She also looked towards the tournament, as she did every six months, and after everything that happened lately it would be a nice change from her usual stressful everyday life.

For an entire day she would be surrounded by her friends where they would play a series of games against each other that would challenge their skills as a shinobi. Last time the tournament took place, it has been the boys who won and after their rather pathetic loss the last time, the girls have sworn to win this one so that they would once more even.

Not many knew of their little ritual, Tsunade and their teachers being the only ones. They always liked to watch over them during the tournaments to analyze their skills, whether they improved ever since the last tournament or still had something to work on and offered them their objective opinion regarding what they could do better the next time.

After every tournament, the group of friends usually spend the rest of the day going out and eating together before the girls would have a sleep-over at one of their homes and the boys would spend some time at either the training grounds or a bar where they would get a drink or two and talk about the day's events.

Sakura took a sip of her water as her eyes drifted back to the mission that she would accompany Itachi on tomorrow, and the pinkette couldn't help but wonder who his informant was. A part of her knew that chances were high that it was someone she was familiar with since Itachi had most likely assigned the job to someone close to him and suited for the job, not some random shinobi that he barely knew. However, she couldn't think of anyone that would fit into the criteria and inwardly wondered just whom she would meet, and what they would tell them.

One thing was for sure, this mission would turn out to be interesting indeed.

* * *

A/N: I'm back! So everyone, what do you think who this mysterious informant may be? Someone familiar, or someone we don't know (yet) ? Let me hear your ideas in the reviews!

I hope that you liked this chapter and as always thank all of you who reviewed the previous chapter, followed this story and favorited it! The mere fact that you read my story means a lot to me and I am grateful for every follow, favorite or review I receive from all of you!

They motivate me to keep on going with this story and trust me when I say that many times, I forced myself to move my lazy ass off the bed and get my laptop to update just because of the notifications I receive from all of you!

What do you think will happen on the mission?

See you soon!

All the love,

Sara


	15. Sail

CHAPTER 15- Sail

Sakura always loved the water.

It was beautiful, calming and mesmerizing all at once. Due to living in Fire Country she didn't get to see the ocean too many times, only a handful of times during some missions back when they were still in the academy but whenever she did, she spent her time admiring its beauty.

As she did now.

Sakura was standing on the edge of a wooden pier as she hugged herself and looked at the wide ocean in front of her, eyes gleaming as she took in the beautiful sight. It was a nice change to the forests that Fire Country offered and even though she had seen some impressive seas and rivers in her twenty years of living already, none of them could compare to this.

Sakura could hear the waves crashing against the wooden pillars that held the pier up mingling with the noises of the villagers, the salted scent the wind held freshening her senses.

Itachi and her have spent the past hours traveling from Konoha all the way south-east to get to Kirigakure's borders and reach this harbor. According to Itachi, they would take one of the ships and spend the night on it before they would leave at the next harbor and meet their informant.

The harbor was quite busy and slightly crowded since it was located right next to a village. Many people were either looking for a way to get on one of the ships, wanted to buy some fresh food on the market or simply passed by.

When they had reached the harbor, Itachi had disappeared after telling her to stay on the pier and that he would find her when it would be time to leave. Even though she didn't know where he had run off to, she figured that he probably took care of getting them some tickets for the ship.

She didn't mind though and instead, used this opportunity to relax and gather some energy after she had spent the past day running at the top of her speed and spending most of her chakra.

"It's a beautiful sight."

Sakura smiled and turned to her right, green eyes falling onto the familiar man who has joined her on the pier. He was dressed in his usual attire, the green flannel jacket they usually wore on missions amiss in favor of staying under the radar and looked at the wide ocean as she had done moments ago.

In comparison to his usual stiff or alert posture Itachi looked calm, his body relaxed as he had his hands in his pocket.

Sakura shifted her eyes from Itachi back to the ocean, a lazy smile playing on her lips as she hummed.

"It is." She agreed, eyes reflecting the sparkling water as she once more turned to look at Itachi. "Did you take care of everything?"

Itachi curtly nodded in return before he turned his head to look at her, his usually blank facade amiss of its coldness.

"Hn. The ferry departs in twenty minutes, so we should get on and look for our room." Itachi told her, and Sakura nodded in return as a disappointed sigh passed her lips.

Itachi watched with interest how Sakura casted the ocean one last rueful gaze before she shifted her gaze back to Itachi with a sad smile.

"Well then, shall we?" She asked, and Itachi nodded, allowing Sakura to lead him off the pier.

The duo was walking down the wooden pier in a comfortable silence and Sakura was too occupied by her own thoughts to notice the way the Uchiha was looking at her in mild curiosity.

"You seem fond of the ocean." Itachi commented as he shifted his eyes from Sakura to once more look ahead. He could feel the pinkette's surprised eyes on him without having to look at her but he skilfully concealed the sparks of curiosity that danced in his eyes beneath a layer of indifference.

Sakura, although surprised by Itachi's sudden question didn't think too much of it and shot him a small smile.

"I am." Sakura told him as she enjoyed the feeling of the fresh ocean breeze hit her skin. "It's a sight that not many appreciate, and even less value. It's a pity that others seemingly fail to recognize its beauty."

Itachi now shifted his gaze back to Sakura, a thoughtful expression on his face as he eyed the pink-haired female that was walking next to him.

The more he found out about her, the more he realized that despite of her rough exterior she managed to see things that many failed to recognize.

"Perhaps its better that not everyone sees its value." Came Itachi's reply, causing Sakura to look up at him in silent question. "This way not everyone will try to rob it of its treasures and instead, it will be left admired and appreciated by those who manage to look beneath its surface."

Sakura hummed in return as she thought his words over and shifted her gaze back onto the pier below her feet.

"I never thought of it that way." Sakura admitted and if she had looked up at Itachi in that moment, she would have seen the way his eyes softened for the smallest of bits. "But you are right. Maybe it's better this way."

Itachi in return remained silent as he lead Sakura towards the ferry that they would be staying on for the following day. Out of all of the ships at the harbor, the one that they would travel to the village on was one of the smaller ones. Despite of that, it still was impressively big and could have easily harbored dozen of people.

Sakura followed Itachi through the mass of people that were gathered in front of the ferry and either bid farewell to their families or argued with the ferry's guards.

The dark-haired male was easily blending in with the crowd and due to all the pushing Sakura actually had a hard time keeping her eyes on him.

When they finally reached the ship itself, she moved to stand next to Itachi who has come to a halt in front of the guards.

"Name?" One of them asked, his auburn hair sticking to his forehead that was holding a frown that she assumed was to scare the villagers off.

Sakura offered the guards a polite smile as she turned her head to look at Itachi, silently waiting for him to introduce them by using some cover names but contrary to her expectations, the Uchiha did nothing of the likes and instead, allowed sparks of red to bleed into his dark-onyx orbs.

Sakura concealed her mild surprise by an expression of indifference and allowed her eyes to stray from Itachi to the guards, who suddenly seemed slightly more tense than they did before.

"Ah, I see." The other blonde haired guard said, his lightly rough voice holding a knowing edge as he offered both Sakura and Itachi a kind smile that highlighted his dimples. He the turned around, his eyes scanning the crowd for someone until they rested on a woman standing not too far away.

"Misaki!" He called and as soon as the woman turned her head to look at him, he ushered her towards them. She instantly did as told and approached the small group with an amiable smile that brightened up her dark blue eyes as she squeezed herself through the crowd.

Sakura returned the smile that was directed at them with practiced ease and stepped away from the guards to let Misaki through and it was then that a certain detail about Misaki caught her eyes.

"You called?" She asked the blonde guard as she rested her hand on her swollen belly, eyes shifting from the guards to Sakura and Itachi.

"Would you be as kind as to show them to their sleeping chambers?" He asked as he shot the duo a pointed look. "Their cabin is number 8."

Misaki's eyes shifted from the blonde male to the duo as realization filled her dark orbs and she inclined her head.

"It would be my pleasure." She told them before she turned to look at Sakura and Itachi with kind eyes. "Shall we?"

Itachi gave her a curt nod as he placed his hand onto Sakura's small back and lightly urged her forwards, past the guards and up on deck.

The duo followed Misaki on deck and listened to her introduction of the ferries different sections. They took their time in walking around out of consideration of the pregnant woman and used this opportunity to imprint every tiny detail into their minds in case of an emergency.

"This is where the sleeping cabins are located at." Misaki spoke as they went below deck, the worn staircase creaking beneath their weight. "Your room is at the far end of the hallway, right around the corner."

Sakura took her time in looking around, green eyes taking in the numbers of the rooms as she noticed that their room seemed to be close to the staircase that led up onto deck.

"You seem to know your way around here." Sakura lightly commented, and Misaki shot her a sheepish smile I return.

"Well, it's to be expected after living here for almost two years." Misaki told them, much to Sakura's surprise.

"You live here?" Sakura asked, her curiosity clearly piqued. She glanced at Itachi out of the corner of her eye to look for his reaction but in comparison to her, he seemed rather indifferent and considerably less surprised.

She figured that he most likely knew of it already and arched a brow in silent question, wondering what else there was for her to find out.

Itachi merely mirrored her expression, dark eyes taking in her questioning gaze as they continued to follow Misaki through the hallway.

"I actually used to be a maid here." Misaki confessed, ripping Sakura out of her little staring contest with Itachi and causing her to once more look at the dark-haired young woman in front of her.

"Ah, that explains how you know this ferry so well." Sakura commented as they finally stopped in front of the room that she would seemingly share with the Uchiha. "Doesn't your husband have anything against you working on here while being pregnant?"

Misaki chuckled lightly as she shook her head, her hand rubbing gentle circles over her swollen belly. "Not if he's the captain."

Sakura suspected that her surprise was visible on her face and set on giving the young woman a bright smile in return. "That's quite convenient then."

"It is." Misaki confirmed as she looked at the pair in front of her with a friendly smile. "I will leave you to rest then. If you need anything, don't hesitate to send someone to fetch me or to personally approach my husband."

"We will." Itachi returned as he inclined his head in thanks before he turned his head to look at Sakura next to him. "You should get some rest."

A flicker of confusion passed her eyes before a hesitant smile made its way onto her lips. Itachi could instantly tell that she suspected something and didn't like it but fortunately, she knew better than to question him.

"Alright then." Sakura spoke before her eyes flickered over to Misaki. "We appreciate your help. If you need anything or don't feel well, don't hesitate to seek me out."

Misaki gave Sakura a grateful smile before she gave them a light bow, her swollen belly limiting her movements. "Thank you, I sincerely appreciate your offer. Enjoy your stay."

With one last smile from Sakura and a small nod from Itachi, the black haired female left the duo once more on their own. Sakura waited until she was sure that Misaki was out of hearing range when she turned around to question Itachi regarding his sudden departure but all that met her eyes was an empty spot next to her where Itachi used to stand mere seconds ago.

Sakura frowned at Itachi's sudden disappearance and opened the door to their room with a heartfelt sigh. She knew that he probably only wanted to ensure that the deck was safe and that there were no intruders but somehow, she felt like Itachi was starting to keep more things to himself again, whether he did it unconsciously or not, regardless of their significance.

Sakura closed the door behind her and allowed her eyes to roam the small cabin that she was standing in. Located on each side of the room was a small bed, the pearly white sheets that covered it being a stark contrast to the dark wooden headboard. The small round window was located on the wall opposite of the door, a small white table resting beneath it.

Sakura walked into the room and placed her backpack next to the left bed before she slumped down onto the bed, eyeing the ceiling with a thoughtful frown.

They would reach their location the following night if they were lucky and until then, Sakura would have nothing to do other than to occupy herself with her medical textbooks or by keeping watch over the passengers.

It sounded like the perfect opportunity for her to rest and gather some energy until they would meet up with their informant, so why did she feel so restless?

The pinkette sighed as she rolled over onto her side and stared at the empty bed on the opposite side of the room, expression thoughtful and eyes hard.

Then again, maybe there was something to do after all.

* * *

"Well if this isn't a pleasant surprise." A low voice drawled from their position behind the helm, their back facing the door as they gazed out onto the sea. "Konoha's Number One Shinobi, Uchiha Itachi."

A thick silence filled the room as Itachi leisurely pushed himself off the wall and walked to stand in the middle of the room, expression blank.

"Haru." Itachi mumbled in return, onyx eyes piercing through the dimly lit room. "It's been a while."

A rough chuckle followed Itachi's words and the man turned around to look at the shinobi with a smirk on his lips. "Indeed. I heard that you became the Hokage, congratulations."

Itachi inclined his head in a curt nod but other than that pointedly didn't comment on this matter. The Uchiha male walked over to stand next to Haru and look out of the window onto the ocean.

The sun was beginning to set and created a beautiful orange sky, the lilac shaded clouds adding to the breathtaking picture.

"I assume that you received my message?" Itachi spoke, causing Haru to arch a questioning brow as he moved to turn around as well.

"Of course, though it was not necessary." Haru replied, his dark gray eyes sparkling in the light of the setting sun. "I always double-check on everyone that comes onto this ferry, especially now that Misaki is pregnant."

Itachi hummed lowly in his throat, obviously content with the answer as his mind went to the brunette woman that he has met before. "I see that you have taken my advice to heart, then."

A low chuckle followed his words, and briefly glanced at Haru out of the corner of his eyes. He was running a hand through his short black hair and stared out of the window with a font smile on his lips.

"I did. Who would have thought that the infamous Uchiha Itachi was actually a matchmaker?" Haru halfheartedly joked, before he released a heavy breath. "I am grateful to you nonetheless, for both saving my life and opening my eyes back then."

"There is no need to thank me for pointing out the obvious." Itachi returned, pausing for a moment before he continued. "I was merely guiding you back towards the path that you've lost."

Haru's smirk fell as his expression turned grim, eyes flashing with hidden memories as he thought back to the last time he has seen the brooding Uchiha.

It was the worst and yet best day of his life and Itachi has played a great role in it as well, a role that he would never forget and forever be grateful for.

"You've always had a perception that intrigues many, Itachi. Your eyes can conceal even the deepest secrets one holds, and that's not only because of your blood-trait." Haru commented, causing Itachi's expression to turn slightly grim as well.

"It's not always a convenient trait, I can assure you." Itachi dryly returned, his voice humorless. "I would prefer being oblivious to most things rather than to be able to see them, as you already know."

Haru hummed, seeing Itachi's point but unable to stop himself from asking. "But would that make you the person you are today?"

Itachi remained silent, thinking Haru's words over as familiar pictures flashed in front of his eyes. His expression was thoughtful as he allowed the shreds of memories to fully take over his vision, his eyes darkening as he balled his hands into fists.

"Perhaps not." Itachi spoke after a minute of silence, his conflicted feelings hidden beneath his usual stoic mask that he wore.

 _It would have probably been better that way, though._

* * *

Sakura was laying in her bed, unable to fall asleep as she stared up at the ceiling.

It was already midnight and Itachi had yet to return from wherever he had run off to.

The pinkette has spent most of the evening examining the deck and talking to some of the passengers that were on the ferry as well but regardless of which part of the ferry she had visited, there was no sight of the Uchiha.

She of course knew that when he didn't want to be found, she may as well turn the entire ship upside down and still wouldn't find him and yet, something didn't sit right with her.

The passengers were really friendly and Misaki was nice company as well, but the heavy feeling in her gut simply wouldn't fade, especially now that Itachi was gone.

Maybe something had happened to him?

Sakura inwardly snorted at her own thoughts. It was more likely that Itachi was eaten by a shark and actually died after dramatically drowning in the ocean rather than something happening to him.

As far as Sakura was concerned, Itachi was a master at the task of surviving.

She was surprised to find that a small part of her was disappointed that he had instantly run off and didn't even bother to spend some minutes with her, regardless of his reasons. Sakura knew that it was no rarity for Itachi to just suddenly fade into thin air but a part of her had hoped that now that they were on better terms, she may find out more about him and his complex, unpredictable mind.

Sakura ignored the light weight that settled over her chest and kicked the blanket off of her with a frown. She wouldn't just lay in bed all night breaking her head over Itachi out of all people while he wouldn't even waste a thought on her.

Deciding that some night-air may help her get more sleepy, Sakura rose from her bed and stretched before she walked out of the room she shared with Itachi.

She was still dressed in the white nightgown that Hinata had gifted her, her long pink hair cascading loosely down her back as she entered the silent hallway.

The small candles that were hanging on the wall were lightened and dimly lit the hallway, guiding her way as she moved through the corridor without creating a sound.

When she was about to turn a corner, she didn't expect herself to bump into a firm chest and when she had lost her balance, a pair of familiar hands instantly steadying her by holding her waist.

Sakura's surprised green eyes shot upwards to look up at the person she had bumped into and upon seeing the pair of dark eyes that were looking down at her, she relaxed.

Her heart was still beating slightly faster than usual when he let released her, and Sakura told herself it was only because he had surprised her, and not because of the way his dark eyes bore into her soul.

"You should be more careful, Haruno." Itachi quietly advised her, eyes flashing. "It's dangerous to wander around on your own at night, even if you're a skilled kunoichi."

Sakura knew that his words were not meant to be criticizing per se, but something about them didn't sit well with her, especially since he was the one who left her on her own in the first place.

"There's little other to do on this ferry, _especially_ if you're on your own." Sakura returned, her brows furrowing slightly. Not only was she annoyed because he just left, but also because he had the nerve to tell her not to wander around when he was the one who left her in her cabin with nothing to occupy her with.

No task, no information about their mission that she could use for researches, nothing.

Itachi was not oblivious to the way his advisor was obviously displeased and whereas he could understand that she probably was not too fond on spending the past hours with nothing to do, he didn't understand why something this simply would put her in such a bad mood.

"I had business to attend to." Was all that Itachi offered in return, not feeling like going into detail about something as unimportant as that but it seemed like it was not such a good idea, if the way Sakura's eyes sharpened was anything to go by.

"It seems like there is a lot of business that you have to attend to lately." Sakura commented, the hint of suspicion that laced her voice not going unnoticed by him. "Is there anything that I should be aware of?"

Itachi mirrored her expression and tilted his head lightly aside, onyx orbs shimmering in the dim light. "No, there isn't." He returned, watching how Sakura's face fell with disappointment.

Sakura thinned her lips and looked at Itachi in silence for some moments before she sighed and closed her eyes. She was sure that Itachi caught the disappointment that filled her eyes before she shielded them from his sight but at that moment, she simply couldn't bring herself to care.

He was doing it again, whether he realized it or not and this way, the process they've made until now would all go to waste. It bothered her not only because they would fall back into their old pattern, but also because Itachi would isolate himself from everyone else once more.

"I thought so." Sakura mumbled under her breath before she sidestepped him, intending to walk past him but the moment she was about to pass him, Itachi's arm shot out and blocked her way.

Sakura looked up at him with a mixture of exasperation and annoyance while Itachi looked at Sakura with a small frown on his face.

"Something is bothering you." Itachi observed, causing Sakura to snort.

"How did you get that idea?" She returned, and Itachi's eyes instantly narrowed as he took a step forwards, forcing her to take one back.

"You should know that I don't appreciate the withholding of information, Haruno." Itachi spoke, his low voice hard and eyes fixed on the pinkette in front of him.

"That makes two of us then." Sakura returned, feeling herself getting more angry by the second. "You should know that it goes both ways, Uchiha."

Itachi's gaze sharpened as he narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "What is that bothers you, Haruno?"

Sakura balled her fists that were loosely hanging by her sides, her eyes shining brightly as she looked at Itachi with a mixture of anger and disappointment.

"You are doing it again." She told him, her voice calm yet firm. "You leave without any explanation, return after hours and refuse to tell me what is going on and leave me out of everything that's happening. That's what's bothering me, now would you mind? I wanted to get some fresh air."

Sakura attempted to move around him again but Itachi was faster and grabbed her forearm, preventing her from moving any further.

"Haruno." Itachi spoke, his grip on her tightening as he felt her trying to get out of it.

"Let me go Uchiha." Sakura returned, clearly frustrated. "I'm not in the mood to talk."

Itachi's eyes narrowed as he took a step forwards, the authorial aura that he emitted palpably chilling the hallway. "You will cease your behavior and listen."

Sakura, too fed up and tired for his attitude snapped her head upwards and growled low in her throat as she once more attempted to free herself, cheeks flushed out of anger.

"Let me go." Sakura snapped, her patience running thin. "You're being childish."

At that, Itachi allowed crimson to bleed into his vision and allowed the Sharingan to take over, focusing his sight on Sakura. Her chakra signature was stronger than usual and if she wouldn't calm down soon, they would gain too much attention.

"I am not the one who started this useless argument for no reason." Itachi calmly pointed out, but as he noticed the flash of hurt that brightened her emerald eyes he realized his mistake.

Too late.

Sakura gritted her teeth and let out a humorless chuckle, the sound echoing through the hallway as she looked up at him with a bitter smirk.

"Useless, huh?" Sakura asked, her heart clenching slightly upon repeating his words. "I was merely concerned an hoped that you wouldn't fall back into your old pattern by shutting others out, but you seemingly don't even get what I am so upset about."

Itachi's expression softened ever so slightly but he still didn't let her go. He was focused on the young woman in front of him, the way her eyes flashed with something that he didn't like, and the way her hand ever so slightly shivered in his grip, whether she was aware of it or not.

Her concerns were justified, just like her anger was but he hadn't realized in time. Now there they were, standing in the middle of the hallway and fighting over something that hadn't even happened yet, and in his opinion wouldn't.

He hadn't shut her out, he simply didn't tell her whom he was meeting with or talking to because he deemed the conversations that he had with the guards and captain as insignificant. If he had known that she would have taken it the wrong way, he would have told her about whom he was meeting with.

She had every right to know as his advisor, and it was understandable that she would think that he would keep her in the dark once more considering that he has left her alone for a couple of hours on more than one occasion lately without offering her any explanation of sorts.

"Please," She suddenly spoke up, her voice sounding more tired than it previously did as he took in the way her eyes have turned a darker hue, the exhaustion that filled them clearly visible. "Let me go, I'll leave you alone."

Itachi exhaled a soft breath and tightened his grip on her once more, causing her to wince slightly before he tugged her closer so that they were standing only centimeters apart, their noses almost touching as he slightly loosened his hold on her wrist, but still didn't fully let her go.

Sakura, too mentally exhausted to protest merely held her breath at the sudden close proximity of the Uchiha heir and looked at him in silence, dim emerald eyes taking in the way his Sharingan was steadily spinning in his eyes.

" _Sakura_ , you will listen to me." Itachi demanded, and Sakura tried to ignore the sudden shiver that run down the length of her spine upon hearing her name leave his lips. It was the first time he was actually addressing her by her first name and Sakura didn't know whether her heart was clenching out of apprehension of his next words, or because of the intensity of his stare.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Hokage-sama." Sakura softly returned as she averted her eyes from his. "Just allow me to go back into our cabin and to sleep, it's been a long day."

Itachi seemingly didn't plan on letting her go and eyed her for a long moment, analyzing every tiny detail of her face and imprinting it into his memory. He was both confused and slowly starting to get annoyed as well. Why was this woman refusing to listen?

"Stubborn." Itachi muttered and almost instantly, he received the reaction that he had hoped for from the pinkette whose eyes instantly snapped back to his, burning with anger.

"Are we done here?" Sakura snapped, clearly not amused. "I don't feel like wasting my time any longer."

"Sakura." Itachi warned, voice low. "I haven't kept anything from you. All I did was meet up with the guards and the Captain to discuss the ferry's security. I didn't think of it as significant enough for me to tell you."

Sakura huffed lightly as she looked at Itachi, expression stern. "Well, what do you deem significant enough to tell me then? When we are just about to go to war? When someone died or attempted to assassinate someone? It's too late then."

"We have an agreement." Itachi sternly reminded her, eyes hard. "I kept my word and will keep it."

Sakura eyed the Uchiha in silence, the intensity of their argument slowly settling over them as seeked his crimson eyes for anything that may betray his words. She was mildly surprised at the amount of seriousness that filled his eyes and pursed her lips, allowing her body to calm under his grip. Almost instantly, she felt his grip on her slightly loosening, but upon seeing the conflicted feelings her stormy eyes held, he didn't fully release her yet.

"I don't expect you to tell me everything, especially not if you do only because you feel like you have to." Sakura spoke, her voice having dropped a few octaves lower as she averted her eyes from his once more. "But you have to look at it from my point of view, of course I'll feel like you're keeping something to yourself if you leave me out of most things again."

Itachi took in the sight of the stubborn woman in front of him and felt something spark in him that he hadn't felt in a long time.

Regret.

For the past years, Itachi had made it his mission to do everything whilst ensuring that he wouldn't regret it later on. As a shinobi, he knew that once he had fulfilled a mission there would be no point to regret anything later on since it would be too late by then to change anything about it. Before every decision he made, he ensured that it was the right and best thing to do and for the longest of times, he held no regrets.

Somehow, Sakura managed to break his entire philosophy within seconds.

"I'll be more considerate then." Itachi calmly declared before he watched in content how her mildly surprised orbs shifted back to him once more.

A sudden spark of guilt filled the pinkette as she caught the earnestness that his voice held, a soft sigh passing her rosy lips as she gradually felt more drained from their little argument.

"I shouldn't have gone off on you this quickly." Sakura breathed, a part of her regretting the tantrum she threw whereas the other part knew that it was necessary. She knew that she had slightly overreacted because she was too caught up in the spur of the moment, but she needed him to be aware of how she was feeling.

Itachi's expression lost some of its tenseness and when Sakura thought he would speak up, his eyes suddenly flashed a bright crimson color before she found herself getting pushed against the wall.

The pinkette inhaled sharply as she felt herself pushed against the cool wall of the hallway, Itachi's hand placed on her spine to cushion the rather sudden push as his black shirt filled her vision.

His familiar scent filed her nose and his body was pressed against hers, allowing her to feel the tenseness that of his muscles as his other arm was leaned against the wall, blocking her vision.

Although surprised and confused, Sakura could instantly tell that something was wrong and if they way Itachi's body was deathly still was anything to go by, she knew that it would be best not to move.

For a series of seconds, Sakura didn't dare breathe as she tried to pick out anything that may disturb the sudden tense silence that filled their surroundings.

Her hands were still laying flatly against his toned chest and when she dared to glance up at the Uchiha, she was not surprised to find that he was already looking down at her with his Sharingan activated and spinning in his eyes.

His forehead was brushing against hers and Sakura and it was then that she was suddenly aware of just how close Itachi actually was. She felt her heart give a traitorous jerk despite of the situation that she hoped he didn't feel due to the close proximity that they shared and allowed her eyes to display the confusion that she felt.

"Itachi?" She whispered, his name sounding foreign on her lips as she tried to ignore the way his eyes suddenly flashed a darker red, causing her skin to tingle and to feel more aware of the small space between them.

Itachi allowed his hand to shift from her back to her hip before he lightly tapped his index finger against it thrice.

Sakura instantly understood.

Someone was there.

Sakura gave Itachi a small nod, signalizing him that she understood whilst trying not to move her head too much. She guessed that Itachi had placed a genjutsu over them and in order not to break it or allow it to flicker, she had to stay still.

Almost a minute later a movement in the right corner of her eye caught her attention and when she shifted her eyes to look at it, she tensed.

"Clear." Came a foreign voice as a man in his early thirties suddenly materialized himself in the middle of the hallway, his amber eyes scanning the empty corridor. Thanks to Itachi's genjutsu he was unable to see them and judging by the way he walked straight past them, he hadn't noticed that anything was off either.

When Sakura was sure that he was gone, she released a breath that she didn't know was holding and tilted her head back up to look at Itachi, whose head was turned to the right with his Sharingan still activated.

She wanted to ask him whether he recognized the man or not when all of sudden, a piercing scream broke through the silence, causing her to slightly jump in place at the sudden shrill sound.

Itachi's hold on her tightened out of reflex as his head snapped to the direction where the sound came from, blood-red eyes narrowing before she shifted them to Sakura.

The pinkette caught the silent message and offered him a small nod, senses sharpening as a wave of adrenaline cured through her.

Looked like they would finally get some action.

Within the next second, Itachi disappeared in a blur and run towards the direction of the scream whilst Sakura chased after the mysterious man who had walked the opposite way.

The pinkette darted through the corridors when the ferry suddenly shifted to the right, causing her to loose balance and to slam with her side against the wall as the lights flickered out of existence.

Sakura steadied herself against the cool wall and channeled her chakra onto the soles of her feet before she charged onward towards the stairs that led to the deck.

The previous scream was followed by a series of others as the doors to several cabins opened and revealed the fear-stricken faces of the passengers.

"What's going on?" An elderly male hollered as he ripped his cabin door open. The ferry gave another jerk to the right, causing him to tumble onto the ground and the others to loose their balance.

"Stay in your rooms and lock the doors!" Sakura commanded as she moved to help a woman up and gave her shoulder an urgent squeeze. "Don't leave it until we get you."

The woman swiftly nodded her head before she grabbed her daughter and dragged her into the room, locking the cabin door behind her.

Sakura continued onward and rushed through the darkness at the speed of light, scanning every inch for any sign of the male she had previously seen before she rushed up the flight of stairs.

The rain was heavily falling down on her as she stepped onto the wooden floor of the ferry's deck, blurring her vision as her eyes scanned her surroundings.

Scattered all over the place was a dozen of men, each one of them dragging shouting and screaming passengers onto the sides of the ferry whilst they were shouting orders at them. Sakura balled her fists tightly as her green eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

What the hell were pirates doing on this ship?

Sakura quickly realized that she wouldn't be able to take them down all on her own without damaging the ship or hurting any of the passengers and scanned the place for Itachi, but there was no sign of him.

Just her luck, it looked like she'd have to take care of this mess herself it seemed.

"Hey, you there!"

Sakura's head snapped to the right just in time to see three mean dart towards her and she instantly channeled her chakra into her balled fists before she run towards them.

They met halfway and Sakura jumped up, barely missing one of their sharp swords as she slammed the heel of her foot into one's temple, knocking him several meters back.

The moment she landed she twirled around and grabbed another one's wrist as his fist flew towards her, easily snapping it under her touch and earning a scream from the pirate.

"It's her!" She heard one yell, just before the ship jerked to the left. If it weren't for the chakra in her soles that kept them glued onto the floor she would have easily went over board but she fortunately was prepared.

Sakura sensed a presence behind her and swiftly ducked, narrowly escaping a blade as she extended her leg to knock her attacker onto the ground.

What she didn't expect was for him to easily avoid the attack and for a series of very familiar seals that caused her eyes to widen before she found herself thrown back by a beam of water.

She grunted as she hit the ground several steps away and rolled to her right, avoiding the kunai that dug itself into the ground next to her as she jumped back onto her feet.

The pinkette clenched her jaws and charged at the blonde shinobi in front of her, fist surrounded by a dim green hue and eyes burning at the challenge.

Her fist barely grazed his cheek and when he moved to the side as an attempt to avoid her attack she smirked as a flash of pink entered her vision out of the corner of her eye.

A heartbeat later, Sakura heard a yell and briefly glanced at her shadow clone before she allowed it to fade out of existence. She wasted no time and looked around, intending to find her next target when she noticed that some of the remaining pirated have now formed a loose circle around her.

"Surrender, missy!" One of them yelled and Sakura merely arched a disbelieving brow. Why did they always think that this line would work?

Her lips curled upwards into a dry smirk as she took in their blood-lust filled expressions, the chakra that run through her veins tingling her entire body and heightening her senses.

Her eyes darkened.

"I don't think so."

With that, Sakura charged.

She formed a series of seals, a dozen of Shadow Clones appearing next to her in an instant before they scattered, each taking on one person. She felt a small part of her strength leave her body and went at the one closest to her, ramming her elbow into his face before she grabbed him by his collar and threw him over board.

Sakura dodged a kunai that came flying towards her head and jumped into the air once more, planting one feet on a pirate's head while she used her other foot to slam it into his face.

A crack pierced through the sound of the heavy rain, followed by a scream as the he collapsed against the broad wooden mast.

She was about to take another one when a series of shots echoed through the air, instantly catching her attention as the pinkette's eyes shifted from the pirates to the source of the sound.

Her body froze as she saw a blonde-haired male hold Misaki against him, a long blade pressed against her throat as her wide, frightened eyes locked with her own.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the blonde pirate who was shooting Sakura a fox-like grin.

"Haruno Sakura, I assume." He called, his voice filled with delight upon seeing the pinkette. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

Sakura narrowed her eyes as she balled her fists that were loosely hanging at her side. She tried to suppress her anger and instead, to remain calm for Misaki's sake.

Now that Misaki was being held hostage, things have considerably grown more difficult for her. Now, she had to find a way to free her and keep the others safe while trying to rid the ferry of its pest.

"I am afraid that the feeling is not mutual." Sakura returned, her words as sharp as a knife. "What do you want?"

The pirate threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh, clearly amused by the pinkette for reasons that she didn't quite understand.

Then again, chances were very high that she was not amusing, but he simply crazy.

"Ah, you're very direct dear." The pirate observed, eyes twinkling in delight as he shot her a grin that revealed his pearly white teeth. "Just how I like it. You'd be a great addition to my crew, interested?"

Sakura shot him a flat look. "I'm flattered, but as much as I appreciate the offer I am afraid that I'll have to decline it. I already have a team and don't intend to switch sides anytime soon."

The pirate tsked as his grin turned into a small smile and he shook his head. "That's a pity indeed. I heard a lot about your teammate though and I am _dying_ to meet him. How about you call him so that he can join us?"

This time, Sakura openly displayed her displeasure and frowned, eyes sharpening as she shot the blonde a warning glare.

"How about you release the young woman first?" Sakura suggested, her eyes shifting to Misaki for the split of a second before she looked back at the pirate that was holding her hostage. "I'd hate for things to get ugly."

The blonde lifted a brow at her sudden demand and looked at the top of Misaki's head, seemingly considering her proposal before he leaned forwards so that his mouth was placed close to her ear, causing the dark haired female to whimper out of fear.

Satisfied by the young woman's reaction, the pirate shifted his gaze back to Sakura and shot her a triumphant smirk.

"She obviously likes it here with me." The pirate told her and just as the words have left his lips, Misaki suddenly gasped, eyes widening as she looked at Sakura in panic.

Her eyes trailed downwards towards her stomach and when Sakura followed her gaze and allowed her eyes to travel downwards, she felt her heart clench in her chest.

Bright red, fresh blood was soaking the lower part of Misaki's beige nightgown what only meant one thing.

The baby was coming and something was definitely not right with it.

Sakura's eyes snapped upwards at the blonde pirate who met her concerned gaze with his own, mildly surprised one.

"Well, seems like things are going better than planned." He mumbled before he tightened his grip on Misaki's waist, causing her to cry out in pain at the sudden movement, her breathing growing more rash as her urgent eyes met Sakura's. "Look's like you'll have to call the Hokage after all."

Sakura gritted her teeth and channeled her chakra into her fists, mentally preparing herself for the seemingly inevitable fight that expected her.

She wouldn't present Itachi to them on a silver plate and instead, would take care of this mess on her own.

"There's no need to."

Or not.

Sakura's head whipped to the right just in time to see Itachi stand on the ferries edge, crimson eyes piercing through the darkness as he fixed them onto the blonde pirate who was looking at him with a cocky smirk.

"Finally." The pirate called, eyes gleaming with joy at the sudden appearance of the Uchiha. "I hope that you're ready to spend the following weeks on our ship, Uchiha."

Itachi's eyes sharpened, not leaving their target as Sakura watched the Hokage in silence, holding her breath as she waited for the sign that was undoubtedly to come.

"Sakura."

The pinkette moved the instant her name left his lips.

She run towards Misaki at the speed of light, barely noticing the dark blur that passed her as she reached out and pulled Misaki into her arms.

Sakura run towards the part of the ship where the remaining passengers were located at and gently laid Misaki onto the ground between two women who were watching them in fright.

"I need help over here!" Sakura hollered as she wiped Misaki's wet hair out of her face and looked her in the eyes, grimly noting that her pupils were dilated.

Her face was as blank as a sheet and sweat was soaking her forehead together with the rain that was still falling down onto them. Tears were leaking out of her wide eyes that were fixed on Sakura, her uneven and heavy breathing fastening with every second that passed.

"What's going on?" A young women next to her exclaimed as Sakura accepted the wet jacket one of the men offered her.

She covered Misaki's torso with the blanket and rested a glowing hand on her swollen stomach, examining her with the help of her chakra.

"I need help in delivering the baby." Sakura told the small crowd that had by now surrounded them, one of the elderly women holding Misaki's hand who was gritting her teeth and let out wails of pain.

Sakura could only imagine the pain the young woman was in and inwardly cursed as she felt the child's weak heartbeat.

The child wouldn't survive another minute in there and was too weak to get out of it herself, but if she would use her chakra to speed up the process chances were high that Misaki wouldn't survive the pain given their current circumstances.

She knew that she had to decide quickly and even though she knew that she would have managed to save both back in Konoha, it wasn't an option out here on sea.

"I need you to give her something to bite on." Sakura demanded before she turned to look at the young man that was sitting closest to her, expression grave. "You'll need to keep her down with all your might, got it?"

The man, although startled, gave Sakura a nod as he scrambled over to sit next to Misaki and planted his hands onto her shaking shoulders. Sakura then leaned over so that she could catch Misaki's eyes and when she did, she tried her hardest to conceal her concern and sympathy upon seeing her broken gaze.

"Misaki, you need to be very strong for both your sake and you child's now. It's going to hurt a lot, but I'll try my best to make it pass as quickly as possible. No matter how much it hurts, you'll have to stay awake. Alright?" Sakura spoke as she grabbed Misaki's free, limp hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

Misaki in return gave Sakura a weak nod and visibly gulped as she allowed more tears to mingle with the rain, her pale lips parting.

"Please." Misaki rasped out, her weak voice drowning in the rain but Sakura heard her just fine nonetheless. "Save her."

Sakura gave her hand another tight squeeze before she turned her head to her side to look at the remaining passengers that were all watching Sakura with a mixture worry and apprehension. They were drenched by the rain, the parents of the children hugging them and whispering words of comfort despite of the way their own hands were shaking.

Sakura clenched her jaw and released Misaki's hands before she moved so that she was on the young woman's right side.

"I need someone to catch the baby." Sakura called as she looked around for any volunteers and to her relief, a middle aged woman from the back moved towards to sit between Misaki's legs without a word.

Sakura gave her a grateful nod and glanced back at Misaki to see that she was already biting on a piece of cloth.

Now, the rest was up to her.

It would have been a much easier task if she were at the hospital but considering their current circumstances, Sakura was glad that she had people who volunteered to help her in the first place.

"On three, I'll apply my chakra so be prepared. Ready?" Sakura called through the rain, receiving several nods before she slid her second hand under the jacket that covered Misaki.

"One." Sakura called as she tried to block out the high-pitched scream that echoed behind her.

"Two."

A loud splash was being heard, followed by a pained grunt that sounded familiar enough to cast a flood of concern over. She forced herself to keep her eyes on Misaki's belly before she shut them close and prepared herself for what would undoubtedly come next.

"Three!"

The instant she allowed her chakra to forcefully enter Misaki's body, a scream like no other pierced through the rainy night.

She felt Misaki stiffen under her touch and heard shouts from the remaining passengers as they watched how the young woman was crying out of pain and struggled against the man's iron grip. Her eyes were clenched shut and Sakura tried to block out her pained screams as she focused on the child instead.

Its heart was still beating, but she knew that it would stop any second now.

Sakura applied more chakra and heard Misaki scream once more, sobs following right after as she wailed in pain. Another shout followed from behind her and when Sakura felt Itachi's signature briefly flicker, she knew that she would have to hurry if she wanted all of them to survive.

"I can see its head!" The young woman screamed while the one that held Misaki's hand was gently stroking her hair and whispered words of comfort that Sakura doubted the woman would hear.

Sakura dared to hope that it was going well and turned to look at Misaki to see her pain-stricken face, her heart breaking at the sight as she removed her hand from Misaki's stomach. She would have to take over now and get the baby out herself, but when she moved to sit next to the middle-aged woman to assist her in delivering the child, she hesitated.

Daring to glance over her shoulder, the pinkette felt her blood run cold as she saw that Itachi was holding his right arm that was limply hanging at his side while he avoided the attacks that were directed at him.

Sakura instantly moved onto her feet, intending to help him but at last second, she found herself hesitating. The medic looked down onto Misaki's broken form as the passengers were shouting words of encouragement at her whilst they worked on safely delivering the baby.

She needed to make sure that the child was safe and still breathing but one look at Itachi was enough to fuel her concern. She knew that he was a very capable shinobi and that he was not easily defeated but this time, something seemed off. He was lacking his usual swiftness and his movements were not as smooth as they usually were and instead, slightly sluggish.

He would be able to take the pirates down on his own, but Sakura feared that the aftermaths would be anything but great.

"It's here!"

The sudden shout caught Sakura's attention and after a moment of hesitation, the pinkette moved to the woman's side.

She was holding the newborn baby with shaking hands and Sakura instantly moved to take it into her own arms, the tips of her fingers that were glowing with chakra gently settling onto its small torso as she checked its heartbeat.

Sakura was pleased to find that the baby's heartbeat has grown regular once more and glanced at a barely conscious Misaki before she moved to sit next to the dark-haired woman.

"It's over now, you did it." Sakura proudly announced as she settled the newborn onto Misaki's chest, who barely had the strength to turn her head to glance at it.

Sakura lifted Misaki's arms and gently rested her hand onto the baby's frail back, eyes softening as she watched how Misaki's body gradually began to shake with dry sobs.

Emerald eyes turned sad as she watched the scene in silence, heart clenching as her gaze shifted onto the passengers that all eyed the scene with a mixture of relief and sadness.

It was a close call, but due to Misaki's strength and strong will both her and the child managed to survive. It has been a nerve-wracking night so far, and Sakura would make sure to reward the passengers for their help with some peace.

The pinkette was about to move back onto her feet and join the battle when an agonizing scream cut through the air like a sharp knife.

The pinkette turned to look over her shoulder just in time to see the blonde fall onto his knees, eyes wide as they looked up at the Uchiha who was looking down at him with cold, blood-red eyes.

His Sharingan was steadily spinning in his eyes as he watched the pirate collapse. Another scream tore out of his throat as he grabbed his head and he closed his eyes, body falling onto the ground as he tore at his hair.

Itachi's eyes brightened once more and Sakura watched in shock how the pirate's body violently jerked, a muffled scream passing his lips as his eyes moved beneath his closed lids. She moved back on her feet and shifted her gaze to Itachi once more, taking in the stiffness of his body as his eyes were seemingly glued onto the fallen pirate.

She had seen what genjutsu's did to people before already, but she had never seen someone use it to this extend. Itachi was torturing the pirate and judging by the way the glow in his eye's only increased, he didn't intend to stop anytime soon.

Sakura heard one of the children gasp as they undoubtedly watched the scene in front of them and the pinkette knew that she would have to stop Itachi if she wanted them to leave this ferry without any lasting mental damages.

Sakura slowly walked towards Itachi, her strides long and loud enough for him to hear over the rain. The pirate's crew members have already fallen and were laying on deck, some unconscious while some were less lucky and died by the hands of the infamous Uchiha heir.

"Hokage-sama, that's enough." Sakura called over the rain, hoping that if she'd use his title he would react but even after some moments passed, he didn't show any signs that he had even heard her in the first place.

Sakura clenched her fists and bit the inside of her cheek as she heard the pirate scream once more, this time even more violently. Sakura stopped next to Itachi and reached out to rest her hand on Itachi's shoulder but he surprised her by catching it mid-air.

A soft gasp passed her lips as she felt him tighten his hold on her wrist to an extend that was beginning to hurt her. Sakura didn't know what was wrong with Itachi but it seemed like he was in anything but the mood to talk.

"Uchiha, let go of my wrist." Sakura told him as she watched his eyes narrow and a heartbeat after, another scream filled the air. She looked at Itachi with confused emerald eyes and tried to free herself from his grip, but it was in vain and thus, she moved to stand in front of him as an attempt to block the pirate from his sight.

"Stop it, you're scaring the children!" Sakura snapped but all she received in return was a tightening of his hold on her wrist. She gritted her teeth out of pain and shot him a glare that she was sure he didn't even notice. A gurgle from behind her only fueled her concern and when she noticed a droplet of blood leak from the corner of his eye, she finally snapped.

" _Itachi!_ "

The Uchiha's eyes snapped to her, still glowing brightly as her wide eyes met his and for a moment, Sakura didn't recognize the man that was standing in front of her.

His eyes were void of any emotion, no spark of humanity left as his burning gaze bore through her own. He was merely looking at her, glowing eyes fixed on her own as she tried to find any sign of Itachi beneath the wall that he had put up.

She knew that she should be scared by the man in front of her and the way his eyes were fixed on her but for some reason, she wasn't.

She was surprised, yes, but not scared.

It was dangerous not to fear a man like Itachi and it would most likely have its consequences, yet all that Sakura could think about in this moment was how little she actually knew of him.

She thought that she had seen most sides of him and despite of the times that she had seen him use the Sharingan on people before, it was the first time that she had seen him use it to this extend.

Sakura was ripped out of her musings when her eyes caught sight of something in the outer corner of his eye, and she instantly frowned.

When Itachi noticed the sudden change in Sakura's expression, he instantly let his Sharingan fade out of life and averted his eyes from hers to look at the now unconscious pirate on the ground next to them.

"Get the board security to get rid of them and meet me in the captains chamber, he needs a medic." Itachi curtly informed her before he turned around to walk off deck and back downstairs but Sakura was faster and grabbed his upper-arm.

"Your Sharingan." Sakura spoke, the hesitance in her voice audible to him as her hold on his arm tightened. She paused, unsure of what his reaction would be if she'd go into detail and allowed some moments of silence to pass.

Itachi remained silent and closed his eyes, displeased by his advisors attentiveness. He had hoped that she wouldn't notice but he should have known better than to underestimate her.

"It's nothing that you need to concern yourself with." Itachi replied, not wanting to go further into detail. Denying it would be like straight-out lying to her and as someone who didn't appreciate being lied to, he hated to lie to others just as much. That still didn't mean that he would share every detail with her.

Especially about his strongest weapon, that at the same time was his most vulnerable spot.

He attempted to move on, expecting her to let go but Sakura didn't budge.

"That may be true, but I would like to take a look nonetheless." Sakura calmly returned, her stubbornness taking the best of her. "Just to exclude anything serious."

Itachi calmly removed his arm out of her grip but didn't turn around as he seemingly took some moments to consider her offer but eventually, the Uchiha heir merely glanced over his shoulder, expression impassive.

"Don't waste your time. Clean up this mess and meet me in the captains chambers in ten, latest."

With that, Itachi silently made his way off deck, leaving Sakura to stand in the cold rain and watch his retreating back.

Her fists were tightly clenched while her lips were pursed into a thin line, eyes narrowed as she looked at the spot where Itachi has been standing mere seconds ago.

He was an enigma-an unpredictable stubborn young man that hated to accept others help even when he needed it the most. Sakura didn't get how someone could switch from being so easy to read to a distance, unpredictable young man within the split of a second.

One moment, he made her think that she had finally figured him out and in the next, he made it all go to hell.

Sakura knew that she should stop, that she should just let him be and do her job but as much as she wanted to do just that, she knew that she couldn't.

She was a lost case, all thanks to the red-eyed man that seemed to consume her mind more and more with every day that passed.

She would have to stop herself before he would not only take over her thoughts and mind, but also the place that she had tried hardest to shield from others.

The place that others have used more than she liked, played with too many times, and have hurt more than she had once managed to bear.

 _Her_ most vulnerable spot.

But when she felt herself growing numb to the raindrops that harshly hit her skin and soaked her white nightgown and her heart clenched as his harsh words echoed in her mind, she feared that if things were to go on like this, any attempt of saving herself the pain that was bound to come would be in vain.

All because of someone whom she wanted to save more than herself.

* * *

A/N: This chapter took me AGES to write. I simply had a major writers block that took me some time to overcome. I have rewritten the entire Chapter three times until I was satisfied with it and let me tell you that it was beyond exhausting.

I really hope that you like this chapter and wanted to thank you for reviewing the past chapter! Your reviews kept me motivated during my struggle with this chapter and I hope that you like the way it turned out as much as I do.

If you did, please tell me by reviewing!

Next chapter we'll finally meet the mysterious informant and I think that most of you will be pleasantly surprised **hint hint ;)**

Also, a lot more Itasaku and drama is to come in the future chapters, so be prepared my sweets!

I hope to see you very soon:)

Love,

Sara


	16. A familiar Enemy

CHAPTER 16- A familiar enemy

That night, Itachi couldn't sleep.

He was laying on his back, facing the ceiling as the ship gently rocked from side to side. The mattress beneath his back did very little to ease the aching of his muscles and the darkness was unable to soothe the stinging sensation that filled his eyes.

After they made sure that every passenger was back in their room and tended to with Sakura's and the crew members help, the duo went to ensure that the captain, his wife and their newborn child were safe as well.

Itachi's eyelids drooped slightly as his mind trailed back to the moment Haru laid eyes on his newborn child that Misaki was gently cradling to her chest as she entered the room.

He would never forget the way Haru's gray eyes brightened with a light that he couldn't name and all of sudden, Itachi was able to see just how much Haru has changed during the past years.

He wasn't the same young, cocky man who only cared about himself, the sea and his ship. Who neglected the consequences of his actions in favor of enjoying the present and didn't worry about the future that was just waiting to engulf him with the cruel reality as a punishment for his arrogance and egoism.

The man that was sitting in front of him has changed into someone Itachi could barely recognize, all because of a _woman_.

Itachi thinned his lips, a thoughtful crease in his forehead as he stared into the darkness.

It was a daring step that Haru had taken. Taking someone as their wife whilst still being on active duty was unheard of, and creating a family under such dangerous circumstances was plainly foolish.

Yet, he had risked it all just to keep his loved ones close, and Itachi didn't know whether he should admire him for being this brave, or to shove another sword through his stomach for his stupidity.

Then again, he couldn't blame him as Haru always was someone who had liked to do things his way, regardless of what others said. Though, Itachi couldn't quite understand his decisions either.

Perhaps it was because he didn't have someone he so desperately wanted, _needed_ to protect as Haru did.

Then again, Itachi doubted that he ever would.

His first priority was the village's and its citizens safety. It was his duty as the Hokage, just like it was his duty as the Uchiha heir to protect his family and to keep them out of harm's way by all means.

A soft sigh broke through his trail of thoughts and despite of his attempt to keep his eyes fixed onto the ceiling, Itachi couldn't stop them from traveling to the source of the sound nonetheless.

Sakura was sleeping in the bed that was placed opposite of his, the darkness that casted its shadows over her still form unable to hide her from his eyes.

She was laying on her side, facing him with her eyes closed and hands neatly tucked beneath her head. Her lips were slightly parted as she took soft, even breaths and her rosy locks were sprawled over the creme colored pillow that her head rested on.

Her expression was peaceful and the complete opposite from the one she wore hours ago.

The one he was responsible for.

Itachi dragged his worn eyes to the ceiling, the dull ache in his eyes suddenly growing more prominent.

He knew then that this night, the darkness would not lull him into a deep slumber and instead, remind him that even in the shadows that the moon casted, he would find no shelter from his haunting memories.

* * *

When Sakura woke the following morning, she was surprised to find that she was not alone.

She exhaled softly through her nose before she slowly opened her eyes, her vision taking a moment to adjust to the bright light that filled the room and to get rid of the blurriness before the images finally became clear.

The moment they did, Sakura tensed as emerald clashed with onyx.

Sitting on the bed opposite of hers was Itachi, looking straight at her with an expression that was intense enough to send a shiver down the length of her spine as she realized that he must have been looking at her sleep for quite some time now.

 _Itachi Uchiha was looking at her sleeping._

What was even more unsettling than that was that he seemed unbothered by the fact that he got caught by her, or that she obviously seemed quite taken off guard.

"You're awake."

Sakura, mildly surprised at suddenly hearing his voice needed a moment to comprehend what was going on before she came up with an appropriate question. When she finally did, she moved one hand from under her head to tug the blanket higher.

"How long did I sleep?" She asked, her voice sightly rough and still filled with sleep.

Itachi cocked his head lightly aside as he watched her for some more moments in silence before he looked out of the small window where the sun-light was shining through.

"We just set anchor, but it won't be for another ten minutes until the passengers will be allowed to leave the ferry." He calmly informed her, and Sakura's eyes flew open wide as she instantly sat upright in the bed.

"You let me sleep for that long?" Sakura exclaimed, obviously shocked that it was already this late. If they set anchor it meant that it was already early in the afternoon, what meant that she had slept through breakfast and lunch. "You should have woken me earlier!"

Itachi, obviously humored by the sight in front of him merely arched a brow. "You were devoid of any chakra and clearly exhausted. It would have done more harm than good to have woken you up, especially since a long day awaits us Haruno."

As much as Sakura wanted to object, she knew that he was right and eventually settled on biting her tongue. It was true that she felt fully recharged again and not the slightest bit tired, but it still didn't sit well with her that she got to sleep this much while Itachi has probably been awake for the past hours and took care of most things before their departure.

"Besides," Itachi spoke up upon seeing her guilty frown, his voice nonchalant and his expression not giving anything away as she turned to look at him. "We both know how moody you tend to get when you lack of sleep."

Sakura's eyes widened out of surprise upon hearing Itachi's underhanded comment, mouth opening and closing in a matter that eerily reminded one of a fish as she stared at Itachi.

Did he really just call her _moody_?

It was the second she caught a glimpse of the ghost of a satisfied smirk that hovered over his lips that she realized his intentions and without giving it a second thought, hurled her pillow at him.

Itachi easily caught the pillow with his right hand, looking clearly unimpressed as he tossed it back onto Sakura's bed and let out a small, amused huff.

"It seems that I need to correct myself." Itachi spoke, the humor in his eyes betraying his monotonous tone as he looked at the visibly angered pinkette in front of him. "You're _especially_ grumpy after you woke up."

Itachi watched with content how Sakura clenched her jaw, torn between giving a witty remark and to simply ignore him but in the end, it seemed like she settled for the third option.

"Go to hell, Uchiha." Sakura sweetly muttered between clenched teeth, her smile dripping with sweetness as she clenched the sheets tightly in her fists.

The Uchiha heir came to find that he liked the third option the most.

Itachi hummed lowly as a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips and he rose from his position on his bed, feeling like he had done his part and moved towards the door.

"The plate on the nightstand should keep you from getting hungry until we get to the village. I expect you on deck in ten minutes." Itachi told her, and when she thought that he would finally leave, she watched him glance briefly over his shoulder, dark eyes slowly dragging themselves from her head to the nightgown that she was wearing. "Preferably properly dressed."

Sakura's eyes once more widened as she lifted the sheets to fully cover herself, a small blush coloring her cheeks as she gritted her teeth and flung the pillow at the Uchiha with all her might. Of course, the Uchiha had foreseen her move and was long gone when the pillow reached the door and lifelessly hit the now closed door, leaving a fuming Sakura on her own.

"You arrogant jerk!"

Her words echoed through the now empty room as the pinkette spent the following minute to calm herself, the curses that passed her lips easing her anger as she pushed herself off the bed and moved towards her backpack to get her spare clothes.

It seemed that Itachi was in a considerably better mood than he had been yesterday and as much as she wanted to be happy about it, she couldn't help but curse his unpredictable mood-swings.

When Sakura was dressed, she pulled her long hair up into a ponytail and walked over to get the plate of food that she had just now noticed from the nightstand.

She guessed that either Misaki or one of the crew members have delivered it when they noticed their absence and made a mental note to thank them when she grabbed the plate and placed it on her lap as she sat down onto her bed once more.

Sakura marveled at the different kind of tropical fruits that were placed on her plate and instantly dug in, her former anger dissolving into thin air as she savored the fresh taste in her mouth with a gleeful smile.

Ah yes, food was her guilty pleasure.

She spent the following minutes simply sitting on her bed, enjoying her belated breakfast before she put the empty plate back onto the nightstand and grabbed her backpack to meet her partner on deck.

As Sakura tightened the strap on her shoulder, she looked around in the room once more before she opened the door and left it and the memories it held, however brief they were.

The pinkette walked through the busy corridor with an amiable smile on her lips. People young and old wee rushing through the hallway, either chasing after their children who refused to leave the ferry or carrying their heavy luggage.

When Sakura walked upstairs on Deck, she wasn't surprised to find that it was just as busy as downstairs. It seemed like the crew has just fastened the gangplank, the crowd of passengers eagerly waiting to get off the ferry having gathered at its beginning.

Despite of the sun shining brightly, the harsh cold wind was enough to make her shiver and Sakura tightened her thin cloak around herself as her eyes roamed the broad area in hope of finding her Uchiha companion. When her eyes finally found him standing close to the ferry's bow, engaged in a conversation with Haru she exhaled a small sigh, preparing herself for the following hours that she would have to spend with him.

"Sakura-san!" A familiar voice called behind her just as she took a step towards them, causing the pinkette to halt and turn around to look for the source of the voice.

Sakura's eyes brightened as she saw Misaki approach her, holding her newborn child closely with a bright smile on her lips.

"Misaki-san!" Sakura returned as she met the newly mother halfway. "You shouldn't be walking around this much yet, you still aren't fully healed."

Misaki waved Sakura's concern off and shook her head. "I am feeling better than ever, Sakura-san. I have spent the past twelve hours laying in bed and doing nothing, a small walk on deck won't do me much harm." She assured the medic, and Sakura's eyes shifted from Misaki to the small girl in her arms that was sound asleep.

"She's beautiful." Sakura gently spoke, a fond smile on her lips as she took in the baby's calm, sleeping expression. "Have you chosen a name for her yet?"

Misaki offered Sakura a sheepish smile and shook her head as she as well looked down at her daughter, eyes softening in a way that Sakura had seen only a handful of times in the hospital before.

"We haven't found a name that suits her yet." Misaki admitted, dark eyes shifting from her sleeping daughters face back to Sakura. "But I think that we should have one by tomorrow night when we leave, latest."

"Many parents take their time with naming their children, so there's no need for you to hurry." Sakura assured her, a bright smile on her lips. "Just be careful, now that you have someone else to take care of as well, things may become way more hectic on deck. Make sure to get a check-up for both yourself and your daughter at least once every three months, alright?"

Misaki nodded before she moved to pull Sakura into a firm hug, careful not to squeeze her daughter in the process. "Thank you Sakura-san, for everything." Misaki whispered before she pulled the medic closer, who gently patted her back in a comforting matter.

"It's been my pleasure, Misaki-san." Sakura softly returned before she pulled back and a sudden thought hit her. "That reminds me, I also wanted to thank you for saving me something to eat despite of me sleeping through breakfast and lunch."

Misaki shook her head with a knowing smile, strands of her black hair that was loosely tied back framing her face as she took a step back and shifted the baby in her arms so that she was having better hold on it.

"There's no need to thank me for that Sakura-san, it was actually Hokage-sama who asked for some food to be delivered to your room since you were still resting after yesterday's events, we just did as asked." Misaki informed her, and Sakura's eyes briefly widened in surprise as she glanced over her shoulder to look at Itachi and Haru, who were now walking towards them.

"He did?" She asked, clearly taken aback before she looked back at Misaki's sparkling eyes with dubious emerald ones.

Misaki nodded, a smile blooming on her face as she noticed the expression that Sakura's face held. "You seem surprised."

Considering this mornings events, she had every reason to be surprised. Itachi Uchiha was being nice for a change, and Sakura didn't know what to think of it. Her best guess was that he either felt guilty for the previous day's events or that he simply wanted to mess with her mind once more and knowing Itachi, both options were highly possible.

Sakura sighed softly, unable to fight the smile that played on her lips as she crossed her arms above her chest. "If only you knew, Misaki-san."

Misaki seemed like she wanted to say something, but was cut off by her husband who moved to stand next to her, a loving smile on his lips as he looked at Misaki.

"I see that you already bid our passenger goodbye." Haru commented as he wrapped his arm around Misaki's waist, gray eyes brightening as she rested her head on his broad shoulder. "Looks like it's my turn then."

Sakura felt Itachi move towards her and tried her best to ignore the way his shoulder briefly brushed against hers before he came to an halt next to his advisor.

Haru extended his hand towards Itachi in a matter that seemed eerily familiar to him, his smile fox-like as he took in the way Itachi's eyes flashed in recognition for the briefest of moments. "It was nice to see you again, old friend. Please know that you are always welcomed on this ship."

Itachi looked at Haru's hand for a moment before he reached out to take his, firmly gripping it before he slightly inclined his head. "As are you in Konoha."

When Haru released Itachi's hand and his eyes fell to Sakura, his smile turned softer. "Of course the same goes for you, Sakura-san. I can't thank you enough for what you did yesterday and hope that you'll visit us again in near future."

Sakura, touched by his sincere words gave him a small bow and offered him an amiable smile when she straightened again. "I am the one who should thank you for allowing me to be of help, Haru-san. It was my pleasure."

Haru nodded, obviously content with her answer and briefly glanced at Itachi before he exhaled deeply, a wide smile on his face as his head turned to look at the scenery that surrounded them.

"Well then, as much I would like to spend more time with you, I don't want to delay your journey as I have heard that someone already expects you." Haru spoke, a knowing grin on his lip as he looked at the duo in front of him. "Hopefully next time we'll see each other under more fortunate circumstances."

Itachi took it as his cue and turned his head to Sakura, who instantly got the hint and with one last smile directed at the captain and his wife left the ferry, closely followed by Itachi.

When they finally reached the harbor and once more had solid ground under their feet, Sakura glanced over her shoulder to look at Itachi.

"So, where to now?" She asked, knowing that he would get the hint as he fell in place next to her, his eyes scanning the crowd for any familiar faces that may cause any trouble.

"We'll meet him at a village that's three hours away from the harbor." He told her, before his onyx eyes fell on her. "It'll be best if we walk, this way we won't gain any attention or stumble across any inconveniences."

Sakura nodded, knowing that it would be the safest route and followed Itachi onto one of the main routes that lead away from the harbor.

The duo fell into a comfortable silence the instance they left the harbor and as tempted as Sakura was to make a remark regarding his sudden change in mood, she decided against it in favor of waiting for the right timing to get her payback for this morning's scene that he caused.

They spent the first two hours traveling in silence with Sakura occasionally asking some mission-related questions that Itachi answered. After they traveled on the broad, commoners route Itachi eventually lead her towards a slightly more isolated path, most likely to lower the chances of being recognized.

At first, everything went surprisingly well. The people that they encountered either offered them a friendly smile or didn't even spare them a second glance, what was always a good thing if you wanted to stay on the low.

When they entered a forest that had small rivers running through it however, Sakura felt her senses tingle in apprehension. She couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly it was, but something about this forest wasn't right.

Itachi seemingly noticed her sudden discomfort and glanced at the pinkette with an unreadable expression.

"Is something the matter?" He softly asked, his voice low so that no one would overhear them if they were to be trailed.

Sakura thinned her lips and roamed their surroundings with keen eyes, searching for anything that may seem off but as expected, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary what only unsettled her further.

"I don't know." Sakura muttered under her breath, expression holding a frown as she turned to look at Itachi once more. "I don't like this place, something about this forest bothers me."

Itachi continued to stare at her, waiting for her to elaborate and after she allowed some more seconds of silence to pass, she explained.

"It's like a foreign chakra signature pushes against my own, but I can't sense any." Sakura told him, frowning at her own words. "I know that it doesn't make sense, but I don't know how else I should explain it."

Itachi hummed lowly as he averted his eyes from her to scan his surroundings, his attention now fully on the forest that thy traveled through.

"No." Itachi returned, his voice so low that she had troubles picking it up under the sound of the twigs and leaves cracking beneath their feet. "I know exactly what you mean."

There was something in his tone that didn't sit well with Sakura but before she was able to ask him, she felt the air getting knocked out of her lungs by a sudden unfamiliar chakra signature that forcefully crashed against hers.

Sakura's alarmed eyes snapped to Itachi to see if he had felt it as well, but he was already looking at the direction where it came from. Sakura's gaze followed Itachi's and when her emerald orbs caught sight of a blue blur that was approaching them in a steady pace she tensed.

Only once in her life before had Sakura sensed a chakra signature this strong before and even though it wasn't exactly as strong as Naruto's, it came frighteningly close to his what was reason enough to unsettle her.

She watched the person come to a halt several meters in front of them and for a moment, there was only silence.

Standing in in front of them was a tall man that looked frighteningly similar to a certain Missing-nin that she had once seen in the bingo book. His skin was a sickly pale hue of blue whereas his dark hair was a striking raven color.

The wide grin that was plastered on his lips revealed a row of sharp fangs and highlighted his shark-like jaw as he held his sword that was double the size of his own behind his back. He looked every bit the dangerous criminal that he was made out to be in the bingo book and it was then that Sakura knew that a fight would be inevitable.

"Well, well, well." Came his booming voice, the humor that it held clearly audible. "If it isn't the Hokage and his little advisor the Godaime's successor, what a pleasant surprise."

"Hoshigaki Kisame." Itachi coolly returned, not seeming the least bit intimidated by the shark-like male or his huge sword.

Kisame's grin only widened if possible upon hearing Itachi say his name before he bared his fangs."You have entered my territory, Uchiha, and I am not too fond of visitors. " His eyes then shifted to Sakura before he run his tongue over his sharp fangs, eyes glistening with an emotion that Sakura didn't quite like. "Though I don't think that Samehada would mind the princess over there, her chakra is _especially_ alluring."

Sakura narrowed her eyes as she glanced at Itachi, waiting for his command but when she looked at him, she was surprised to catch a glimpse of annoyance in his usually composed expression.

Well that was interesting.

"I am afraid that this isn't possible." Itachi lowly returned, and when Sakura turned to look back at Kisame, she instantly caught the challenging spark in that his eyes held.

"One little nip never killed anyone." Kisame drawled as he moved his sword from behind his back to his right, his grin fading into a cocky smirk. "Right princess?"

Sakura frowned as she looked at the missing-nin in front of her and allowed her chakra to gather itself into her palms. A fight was by now inevitable and Sakura couldn't help but feel like this fight would be one of her most challenging ones just yet.

"I am afraid that I'll have to agree with the Hokage, Hoshigaki-san." Sakura calmly returned, eyes narrowed. "As alluring as my chakra may be, it is to stay with me and it would do you well to remember that."

"What if I refuse to?" Kisame challenged, and Sakura smirked dryly in return.

"Then you'll have to live with the consequences."

Kisame threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh before he lifted his sword and returned his attention to the duo in front of him, eyes gleaming with sheer blood lust.

"Well then princess, I hope that you'll stick to that."

With that, Kisame charged.

Sakura instantly jumped back at the same time Itachi jumped forwards, creating a series of clones that all formed the same seals as he did.

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!"

Sakura's entire face was brightened by the broad flames that illuminated the forest, the wave of heat that passed her nipping at her skin and forcing her to take a broad step backwards.

It seemed like Itachi didn't feel like going easy on him.

As a ninja of her rank, it was custom to know the basics of most missing nins and thus Sakura had already heard of Hoshigaki Kisame before.

The tailless Jinchuuriki, as they liked to call him.

He was known for using Suiton Jutsus as well as his enormous chakra during fights, meaning that the easiest way to defeat him would either be the use of genjutsu or to beat him with the same methods that he used by using her own chakra and avoiding his sword.

Using the fire as cover, Sakura channeled all of her chakra into her balled fists and waited until the flames ceased before she jumped towards where Kisame's signature was located at.

She moved at the speed of lightning, diving headfirst towards the ground several meters in front of him and slammed her glowing fist into the ground.

The earth beneath her shattered with an enormous rumble, breaking it without much effort as the ground shook with a force that could easily break even the strongest animals.

Sakura glanced upwards towards where she felt Kisame to be just as the last flames vanished into thin air just to see him shoot her a wide grin.

Itachi was standing several meters behind the shark-like male, ready to attack once more before as Kisame hungrily licked his lips.

"Ah, your chakra is very tasty indeed princess." Kisame commented before he went into a crouch, sword glowing. "Share some of it with me, would ya?"

Without waiting for an answer, Kisame charged at her with a loud roar that echoed through the clearing. Sakura's reaction was instant, the movements of her hands automatic as she fixed her eyes on her opponent.

Just when Kisame's sword almost reached her, Sakura disappeared into thin air, reappearing several feet behind him before she used all of her chakra enhanced strength to land a kick right into his spine.

Kisame, who has foreseen her move twisted just in time to block the attack with Samehada and the moment Sakura's sole came in contact with the sword, she felt it absorb her own chakra.

Her heart skipped a beat at the dark, cold sensation that suddenly crawled over her body and the pinkette knew that she couldn't waste any more time and jumped high into the air and slamming the heel of her other foot against his temple.

Kisame's head jerked to the side as he stumbled a few steps back, a grunt following her kick as Sakura forcefully pulled her other leg away from Samehada and went into a crouching position in front of a broad tree next to where Itachi was standing at.

"You have to be careful when using your chakra around him." Itachi advised her, eyes locked on Kisame who was straightening his posture again. "If you don't manage to pull away in time, he will soak every last drip of chakra out of you."

Sakura felt goosebumps cover her skin as she thought back to the feeling mere seconds ago and gave Itachi a curt nod, her breaths coming out short and slightly uneven.

"Is that all you two got?" Kisame hollered as he wiped his bleeding temple with his index finger and looked at it with a satisfied glint in his eyes.

Sakura thinned her lips, clearly displeased as her mind reeled with different strategies and possible attacks. She could use her chakra for long-distance attacks but using it in close combat would only backfire, Sakura grimly realized.

Kisame suddenly formed another row of seals and the moment his hands slid into the last formation, Itachi was suddenly in front of her and blocked a giant stream of water with the help of another katon jutsu.

Sakura knew that he was giving her an opening and instantly moved, grabbing a pair of kunai that she had strapped to her waist and hurled them straight at Kisame.

"Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu!" She cried, and in the next moment there was a giant explosion.

She heard Kisame grunt out of pain as he was thrown backwards and crashed through a series of trees before he hit the ground. Sakura and Itachi followed him in an instant and stopped only a few steps away from him, watching as the missing-nin pushed himself onto his elbows.

Sakura's body relaxed as she saw the large puddle of blood on Kisame's back but unbeknownst to her, Itachi knew that the swordsman was far from lethally injured.

"Stay alert." Came Itachi's sudden warning, much to her confusion but when Sakura turned to look from Itachi back to Kisame, she was surprised to see that the blood she had formerly seen was gradually disappearing.

Her eyes widened out of shock as she heard a dark chuckle, followed by the sound of bones cracking as Kisame lifted his head to reveal a devilish glint in his dark eyes.

Sakura didn't see it coming.

When she saw was a blur headed towards her and Itachi dart towards Kisame, she only had enough time to channel chakra into her arms and to cover her face as a weak attempt to block the hit, but the force of Samehada was too strong to withstand and Sakura found herself crashing against a tree in the split of a second.

She inhaled sharply as her back hit the tree, the sudden loss of chakra leaving her unable to cushion her fall as she slumped onto the tree's base.

Itachi's eyes gleamed dangerously upon seeing Sakura's sudden pale expression and the Uchiha heir turned to look at the male in front of him with a disapproving frown as he avoided another beam of water directed at him.

"Don't take it too far, Kisame." Itachi sternly warned as he formed a row of seals whereas Kisame merely chuckled and avoided the sudden weapons that came flying towards him.

"She's a feisty one, I can tell that she can take a little more."

Itachi, although still not too fond of Kisame's little game remained silent and continued with the attack and kept his senses sharp to ensure that Sakura would manage to get back onto her feet on her own.

Even though Sakura's chakra signature was weak, he knew that it took more to take her down. The pinkette was slowly moving back onto her feet, her chest heaving with every breath that she took.

She could feel that she only had a quarter of her chakra left and that if Kisame were to hit her one more time with Samehada that she would be in serious trouble. Not because she couldn't use her chakra for any attack, but because her physical strength would slowly fade as well.

Her eyes fell on Itachi, who was currently fighting Kisame on his own. They were moving at a speed that almost left them invisible to the naked eye and every once in a while, one of them would be forced a couple meters backwards.

Sakura frowned as a sudden thought hit her upon observing the duo.

Itachi wasn't using his Sharingan.

Sakura felt her insides churn at the realization and wondered if it had anything to do with last night's incident and if there really was something wrong with his eyes.

The medic curled her hand around one the cool hilt of the kunai that she had strapped inside her upper thigh and carefully pulled it out, expression determined as she lifted her hands and formed the familiar set of seals, allowing the last bit of her chakra to leave her body and to form a set of shadow clones.

It was her best chance at bringing Kisame down.

Without making a sound, Sakura darted towards the fighting duo and headed for Kisame, the familiar weight of the kunai in her tight grip keeping her focused on her target.

Itachi seemingly sensed her approach and twisted his body to the left just when Sakura extended her arm and swung it at Kisame.

The shark-like nin merely smirked as he once more lifted his sword, intending to block the attack but when he felt the kunai suddenly disappear into a cloud of chakra and was too occupied by the chakra Samehada absorbed, his smirk fell.

A piercing sensation in his lower abdomen told him that he reacted too slowly and even when he turned around and pushed the smirking pinkette against the tree, he realized too late that she had deceived him.

The woman that stared back at him with a victorious smirk on her lips poofed out of existence and the moment she disappeared from his sight, he felt himself getting harshly kicked against the tree that he had formerly pushed her against.

Kisame groaned as his face collided with the rough tree trunk, his hold on Samehada loosening as he was forced onto his knees.

He then felt her presence right behind him, the feeling of the slight chakra on fingertips zapping his skin as he allowed himself to lazily smirk.

"You're quite tough girl, I gotta give you that." Kisame spoke, his low voice laced with amusement as he calmly pushed himself off the tree trunk and moved so that he was facing the pinkette, ignoring the stinging sensation that the kunai in his abdomen caused.

Sakura was hovering above him, face pale and yet cheeks slightly flushed as she had her hand placed on the place between his shoulder and neck in case he were to try anything. Her eyes were hard, lips pursed and her chakra signature was dangerously low and yet, she stubbornly stood her place despite knowing that he could easily pull the kunai out of his body and slice through her body with the help of Samehada.

Sakura, seemingly reading his mind applied some pressure on the place and frowned in disapproval.

"The moment you move to grab Samehada I'll have the last Shadow clone ram another kunai straight into your liver before I'll personally drag you away from Samehada and throw you into the ocean. Until you'll have gathered enough energy to keep yourself from drowning while getting the kunais out and healing yourself I'll have the sword buried hundreds of meters deep into the ground, which leaves you to find it and by then we'll be long gone." Sakura calmly explained, the threatening hint her voice held clearly audible to everyone present and for some moments, there was only silence.

Until Kisame let out a roaring laugh.

Sakura blinked a series of times, taken off guard as she looked at Kisame in silent question. Was he not taking her serious?

Kisame, not oblivious to her confusion looked straight past her at Itachi who was standing several feet behind the medic, a small smirk on his lips upon hearing Sakura's words.

"Damn Itachi, you really got yourself a keeper." Kisame laughed, eyes filled with approval as he looked at Sakura who had troubles to understand what was going on. "I like her."

It was then that the realization of what was going on dawned on her, the familiarity with which Kisame addressed Itachi and the way Itachi seemingly held himself back during their fight now making sense as Sakura's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You're the informant?"

It was spoken more like a statement rather than a question, but Kisame nodded nonetheless as he pushed her hand away from him with his index finger before he dusted invisible dust off his shoulders, a sharp smirk on his lips as he pushed himself back onto his feet.

"The one and only." Kisame revealed before he picked Samehada up and stripped it back onto his back, clearly amused by the whole situation. "Though you don't seem too happy about that, little princess."

Sakura's wide eyes then turned to Itachi and upon seeing the Uchiha's amused expression, she felt the blood in her veins boil.

"You purposefully set me up!" Sakura accused, her wide eyes now narrowing into dangerous slits as she realized that Itachi had allowed her to get involved in a fight that he knew wasn't even serious in the first place.

What ticked her off the most wasn't the fact that he hadn't told her though, but that the two obviously found it to be _funny_.

"You allowed him to provoke you, it wasn't a set-up but the product of your own hastiness." Itachi clarified, inwardly pleased at the way her eyes sparked with sheer anger.

"You withheld information, Uchiha." Sakura snapped, the familiarity of her words not going unnoticed by Itachi. She was throwing his own words back at his face, and that was something he had not reckoned with. "Looks like it _does_ go both ways, after all."

"One indeed adjusts to their partner, it seems." Itachi calmly returned, dark eyes shining with humor despite of his impassive expression.

Sakura balled her fists and kept her gaze locked with his. He was trying to rile her up again for his own twisted reasons but Sakura was not going to fall for it again, especially not in front of an s-class missing-nin.

"You're on then, Uchiha. I'm going to show you just _how_ well I've adjusted to you, then." Sakura declared, the challenge her voice held causing Itachi's eyes to darken in content.

"I'll look forward to it."

Too caught up in their own little quarrel, a certain missing-nin watched the exchange with curious eyes and a knowing smirk. Kisame knew that light in Itachi's eyes all too well, he had seen it plenty of times before when the Uchiha heir finally found his target after a long chase and it seemed like the pink-haired princess had somehow managed to catch his interest.

It seemed like she didn't even realize what dangerous little game she had unknowingly got herself involved into by catching Uchiha Itachi's interest, but Kisame was sure that if Itachi's smirk was anything to go by, she would soon find out herself.

"As much as I hate to interrupt your little fight," Kisame started, instantly gaining their attention as he moved towards the duo. "I think that we should take care of a certain business first."

Sakura shook her head as an attempt to snap back into reality before she nodded. "You're right Hoshigaki-san, we should go."

Kisame waved his hand in return, grimacing upon hearing Sakura addressing him by his surname. "Just call me Kisame, I am not one for formalities." He told her, earning a hesitant nod from Sakura in return.

"Well then Kisame-san, please lead the way."

Kisame shot her a lazy grin before he inclined his head, eyes pointedly shifting to Itachi for some moments before he looked back at Sakura, eyes gleaming in a light that she couldn't quite name. "It'll be my pleasure."

As much as Sakura tried to suppress it, she couldn't help the smile that twisted her lips upwards as she watched the supposed missing-nin walk past her and Itachi, leading them into the direction they were formerly headed at.

She briefly glanced at Itachi, wondering just how he managed to cross paths with someone like Kisame who was, on top of that, a missing s-ranked criminal before she shook her head and followed the shark-like man, Itachi following right after her.

The trio spent the remaining hour walking towards the village that Kisame was currently staying at, Sakura and him falling into a small conversation that Itachi occasionally joined.

When they have finally reached the village, Sakura was surprised to find that contrary to her expectations, it was a rather large one located close to a broad river that separated it from another forest.

"It's quite lively." Sakura commented as they entered the village and Kisame led them onto one of the busy main streets. Children were chasing one another while the adults were following them at a slower pace and talked among themselves.

There were a few shops lined up at both sides of the street that were also quite filled and when Sakura glanced over at Kisame, she frowned.

It seemed like no one paid the large male next to her a second glance, no one suspecting a single thing despite of his striking features that easily gave him away as a rather strong shinobi, especially with the huge sword that was strapped onto his back.

Itachi sensed Sakura's confusion and fixed his eyes onto the road in front of him before he explained. "Since this village is located at Kiri's outskirt, it's often visited by shinobi's of all kind. The villagers gave up asking about our purpose for crossing it or staying here decades ago."

"Ah." Sakura breathed as she took in the relaxed faces of the villagers. "So they don't care who visits as long as they don't cause trouble?"

"Exactly." Kisame confirmed, his posture relaxed as he walked down the familiar street. "The majority of the people living here have either fled from their village so that they wouldn't get found or used to be shinobi's who wanted to settle down in a neutral area where they could lay low without having to worry about getting dragged back by their own men."

Sakura's eyes scanned the foreign faces in the crowd and now that Kisame had pointed it out, she could see it as well. Whereas some villagers seemed like ordinary villagers, others had more striking features that reminded her of other countries citizens.

They spent the remainder of their walk in a comfortable silence and after half an hour, they reached a less busy part of the village where Kisame was staying at.

"I already told the owners of the place where I stay at to prepare two rooms for you." Kisame told them as they walked towards a two story building that was located between two inn's that were moderately visited. "Once you get your keys, you can freshen up while I'll go and grab some food for us. After that we can talk about the serious stuff that you came for."

Sakura nodded, easily agreeing with Kisame's plan whereas Itachi remained silent and wordlessly followed Kisame into the old building.

The wooden floor beneath their feet creaked as they stepped into a broad hall, the light that was shining through the broad windows behind the reception desk where a young woman was sitting behind at illuminating the room.

"Got the keys, Aiko? Kisame asked the young female that seemed no older than fifteen with a lazy smile, causing Aiko's attention to shift from the book she was currently reading to the trio in front of her.

Her bored gaze slid from Kisame over to Itachi until it finally rested on Sakura, the medic offering the girl a friendly smile that the brunette returned with a small huff.

She pushed her thin glasses higher onto her nose before she dug with her hand into one of the drawers and pulled out a set of keys, the clinging sound breaking through the silence as she tossed them to Kisame.

"Room 76 and 105." Aiko monotonously informed them as she returned her attention to her book and dismissed them without another word.

Sakura lifted her brows as she glanced at Kisame, halfheartedly expecting him to be offended by the girls rather rude behavior, but the tall male next to her seemed used to it and brushed it off with a roll of his eyes.

"Careful with the eyes kiddo, at the speed you're reading you may break your glasses." Kisame commented, but his words seemingly fell on deaf ears for the girl continued to read without paying him any attention.

Kisame dramatically sighed before he turned around to hand Sakura and Itachi a key each. "You got half an hour to do whatever the hell you want before I expect you in my room."

Sakura arched a brow but decided against commenting on his rather rude bluntness before she looked at the key in her hand. It was a small one attached to a rusty silver key chain where her room number was imprinted on in bold, black numbers.

"Thanks, I guess?" Sakura replied, not quite knowing what else would be considered an appropriate answer before she glanced up at the flight of stairs that she assumed would take her to her room. "I'll take my leave then."

Kisame gave her a curt nod whilst Itachi stayed silent, roaming his surroundings with a bored gaze. Sakura shook her head at the unlikely duo in front of her before she made her way upstairs, the sound that the worn wood beneath her feet created echoing through the hall before she disappeared from their sight.

When Kisame heard her footsteps fade and he was sure that she was out of earshot, he turned to look at Itachi with a small smile.

"I didn't expect you to choose someone like her as your advisor. She seems smart and ready to punch the living daylight out of someone if necessary rather than someone who loves to stick to you like a shadow." Kisame commented as he slowly followed Itachi up the stairs and accompanied him to his room.

"I didn't chose her, she was just unfortunate enough to get stuck in this position." Itachi corrected him as they walked towards his room that was located at the opposite end of the corridor. "But you are not wrong, she certainly is unlike most and quite hard to handle."

Kisame's smirk turned into a shark-like grin as they rounded a corner. "You make it sound like a bad thing, Uchiha."

This time, Itachi couldn't stop the smirk that tugged at the corner of his lips as Sakura's furious eyes flashed in front of his mind for the split of a second. Kisame always managed to somehow read him, so there was no use in denying it.

"Hn."

The duo continued to walk in silence before they finally reached Itachi's room and Kisame crossed his arms above his chest, all traces of his former playfulness having disappeared. Instead, the Kiri-nin's expression held a serious frown as he looked at the Uchiha heir.

"You won't like what I found out." Kisame warned Itachi, but the Uchiha had seemingly expected no less and merely exhaled softly, voice low as he answered.

"I feared so."

Kisame shook his head as he as well heaved a heavy sigh before he turned with his back to Itachi, back straight as he stared at the end of the hallway with empty eyes.

"It may be even more serious than we thought." Kisame muttered before he curtly glanced at Itachi over his broad shoulder, a slight frown marring his face as he took in the Uchiha's stony expression. "We need to get rid of them before they cause an even bigger mess."

With that being said, Kisame walked back towards the stairs and left Itachi standing in front of the door that lead to his room, the rusty keys that he held in his hand suddenly feeling heavier than before.

* * *

Sakura knocked on the wooden door exactly twenty-seven minutes after she had parted with her teammate and their informant, her damp hair twisted back into a loose braid as she waited for Kisame to open the door.

Muffled noises reached her ears before Kisame threw the door open, the large blue-skinned male looking down at the pinkette with a smirk.

"I didn't expect you for another three minutes." Kisame commented as he moved aside to let Sakura pass. The pinkette walked past him, wisely deciding against commenting as she entered his room and curiously looked around.

The room seemed slightly bigger than hers but other than that, the interior design was the same. The bed that was located beneath the window was in the left corner while an old, wooden dresser was in the right one.

A table was placed in the middle of the room with a chair placed on each side. Itachi was already sitting on one of the chairs, his head turned to the right so that he could look out of the window while Kisame pointed at the seat opposite of the Uchiha.

"Sit down."

Sakura did as told and sat down on the empty chair that Kisame had motioned at, the sound of the chair scraping against the floor breaking through the otherwise silent room. Kisame did the same and sat down at the head of the table, arms crossed above his buff chest before he exhaled deeply.

"I'll get straight to the point because I don't feel like beating around the bush." Kisame bluntly declared, the frown that marred his face matching the steely edge his voice held. A sudden, tense silence filled the room as Kisame leaned back in his seat, eyes shifting from an apprehensive kunoichi to a brooding Uchiha. Itachi's eyes moved from the window to Kisame, his sole attention now fixed on his informant as he placed his elbows onto the surface of the table and interlaced his hands in front of him.

Kisame took it as his sign to go on and after a short pause, he continued.

"How much do you know about Konoha's Rogue's?"

Itachi's gaze instantly sharpened whereas Sakura's expression held a confused from upon hearing Kisame's question. She moved her gaze from Kisame to Itachi, the silent question her eyes held visible as she watched the Uchiha heir for any kind of reaction.

"Most of their whereabouts and actions are being tracked by Anbu." Itachi told him, and Kisame nodded in return, having known this piece of information already but clearly wanted to hear it from the Hokage once more.

"Konoha's rogue are low in number compared to the ones of the other Hidden Village, but they are the ones who are the most dangerous." Kisame started, a knowing glint entering his eyes as they bore through Itachi's. "For a reason, as we all know."

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she looked at Kisame, confused. "Why are they the most dangerous?"

Kisame's lips twisted upwards into a chilling smile that caused goosebumps to cover Sakura's skin.

"Konoha's rogue all have one thing in common, princess." Kisame told her, voice lowering as his eyes bore through her own. "They got betrayed by their own village that they once would have given their life for."

Sakura clenched her fists that were resting on her lap as she tried her hardest to remain collected. She didn't want to rashly act without having heard everything first, but she found it to be a harder task than she expected it to be. Whereas she had already expected something along the lines, getting her suspicions confirmed made her feel sick.

"How?"

It was more of a demand than a question, and the curtness of her voice was enough to finally make Itachi look at her. She was sitting straight in her seat, looking directly at him instead of Kisame with a blank expression that concealed her inner turmoil.

He knew that as the Hokage of the village, Sakura wanted to personally hear it from him rather than from a missing-nin that she had met mere hours ago in a forest.

"Konoha used them, not caring for anything but its own personal gain while risking the life of its shinobi. They found out about things that the leaders of the village wanted to keep hidden, plans that went against everything that they believed Konoha stood for and left before they or their families would get involved and suffer under the consequences." Itachi revealed, earning a displeased look from Sakura.

"Plans like what?" Sakura pressed, knowing that there was more to it than Itachi told her and upon seeing a flicker of hesitance flash in Itachi's eyes, she turned to look at Kisame.

Kisame thinned his lips as his expression turned grave, and it was then that Sakura knew that she wouldn't like what she was about to hear.

"One of their plans was to form a unit with Konoha's most skilled shinobi whose sole purpose would have been to obtain the tailed-beasts Jinchuuriki's." Kisame grimly informed her, and Sakura felt the blood in her veins run cold as her gaze snapped to Itachi, emerald eyes shining with sheer disbelief.

She waited for the Uchiha to tell her that it wasn't the truth or that they at least had a valid reason for doing so other than the one that she suspected but upon seeing the regret that filled Itachi's eyes, she knew that he wouldn't do so.

A sharp pang pierced her heart as she thought of her blonde-haired friend, her jaw clenching as her gaze sharpened.

" _Was_ it Konoha's plan, or is it still?" Sakura asked, her words cutting through the thick silence like a knife as she looked at Itachi, waiting for the answer she knew she wouldn't receive.

"Both the Yondaime and Sandaime Hokage dismissed the proposal the instant it was made, but there were people who still supported the idea." Itachi clarified, but he knew that it did nothing to calm the pinkette's anger and to erase her suspicions. "As few of them as there were, they still managed to get people on their side that would do anything to go through with the plan, even if it meant that they'd have to do it on their own and without Konoha's support."

"What about the rogues then?" Sakura asked, eyes shining in suspicion. "If Konoha dismissed the idea, why would they leave the village?"

This time, it was Kisame who spoke up. "They lost faith in Konoha's leading system despite of the Hokage dismissing proposals that went along similar lines like the Uchiha massacre and left because they felt betrayed. Konoha turned out to be more problematic and twisted than they believed it to be and if you add personal grudges like them losing loved ones during their time serving, you can tell why they hold a grudge against the village and the entire shinobi system in the first place."

Sakura remained silent and averted her eyes from Kisame to look at the wooden table instead, her gut churning as her mind reeled with thoughts that made her feel beyond uneasy.

As much as she hated to, Sakura had to admit that a part of her could understand their reasons for leaving. Years of serving for the village have traumatized many, especially if they lost loved ones during the time and if what Itachi and Kisame had told her was true, it was understandable that they doubted Konoha and its system.

The other, larger part of her however couldn't understand how they could leave the village instead of trying to make a difference by ridding Konoha of its parasites.

Shinobi of their ranks could have easily challenged the ones behind these sick plans and with the help of the Hokage, everything may have gotten prevented. Of course Sakura was aware of the fact that the ones that would openly go against them would become a great target, but if they had loved their village and life as a shinobi as much as they claimed to, wouldn't they have fought until the very end to save it from its downfall?  
"Why would they target the Hokage instead of the ones that supported these plans then?" Sakura inquired, unable to understand as she glanced at Kisame in mild wonder. It simply didn't make any sense that they would target the Hokage if he and the ones before him were never involved in things such as these.

Kisame smiled wryly at Sakura's question and hummed lowly. "That's the exact same question that I have asked myself for the past weeks as well and after I did some digging, I managed to find the answer."

Sakura waited for Kisame to go on and to explain, but to her surprise Itachi was the one who took over and elaborated.

"Once the Kage's are out of the way, they can easily take over the villages and lead them the way they believe is right." Itachi spoke, his voice a mere mumble as he looked Sakura dead in the eye. "They want to change the entire Shinobi system and plan on starting with Konoha."

Silence followed his words as understanding finally dawned on Sakura. Kisame shifted in his seat as he turned his head to look at Itachi, clearly impressed by the speed at which Itachi managed to catch up.

"Exactly. Together with others that oppose to the Shinobi system or hold a grudge against the Hidden Villages they plan to take them down one by one, and what better way is there to do so other than to rid the villages of their Kage's?" Kisame asked before he leaned forwards and rested his arms on the table, eyes glowing in a dangerous light as they fell on a brooding Itachi. "According to my sources, their leader is especially fond of a certain Uchiha for some reason."

Itachi remained silent, his mind going over the pieces of information as Sakura exhaled a deep breath, obviously troubled.

"We need to find a way to find them before they cause more damage." Sakura sternly declared, earning a smug smirk from Kisame in return.

"It's very fortunate that I caught wind of a rumor that one of their units will hold a meeting at the outskirts of the village tomorrow night, then." Kisame revealed as he unfolded his arms and cracked his knuckles, his smirk widening into a sharp grin as he looked at the duo in front of him. "How about we pay our friends a visit?"

* * *

A/N: There he is! As many of you have already correctly guessed, Itachi's informant is Kisame!

Whereas I purposefully didn't reveal much information about how Kisame became Itachi's informant, I plan on including this bit of information in one of the future chapters.

Until then, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless. The plot is starting to roll and a lot more things are going to happen very soon so stay tuned!

Do you think that there will be any familiar faces in the group of rouges that are after our favorite heroes and if yes, who?

I'd like to read your guesses and theories so please tell me by dropping a review! Your kind words and theories regarding what will happen in the future chapters are what keeps me motivated ;)

See you in the next chapter!

Love,

Sara


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